Men's Basketball

PREVIEW: (6) IHCC VS. (7) NORTHWEST FLORIDA

PREVIEW: (6) IHCC VS. (7) NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Posted: Mar 24, 2023

Hutchinson, KS – The Indian Hills Men's Basketball team is back in the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball National Tournament for the first time since 2014 as the Warriors will take on Northwest Florida State Friday night.

DETAILS: NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Tournament Semifinals

#5 (6) Indian Hills vs. #16 (7) Northwest Florida State

Friday, March 25  |  7:00 PM CDT

Hutchinson, KS  |  Hutchinson Sports Arena

WATCH LIVE: NJCAA Network

LIVE STATS: Indian Hills vs. Northwest Florida State

LIVE AUDIO: GoHillsTV

TICKETS: NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Championship

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: NJCAA Championships

BRACKET: NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Tournament

WHERE TO WATCH: Godfrey's Alehouse, Morgan's Corner, Courtside Bar & Grill, Indian Hills Formal Lounge (Ottumwa Campus), Pit Pony Pub (Centerville)

STARTING FIVE

  • The Warriors head into the semifinal round after a thrilling 79-75 overtime victory Thursday night over No. 3 Odessa where Indian Hills erased a 15-point deficit late in the second half.
  • Indian Hills has faced two of the three remaining teams in the national tournament in the regular season in Northwest Florida State and No. 1 seed John A. Logan.
  • Enoch Kalambay became just the fourth player in program history to score 30 points in a national tournament game on Thursday night, joining Torrey Patton (2019 - 30), Dwight Hardy (2008 - 36), and Pete Mickeal (1997 - 31).
  • Northwest Florida State secured wins over No. 10 Butler 71-59 and No. 15 Vincennes 68-55 to advance to the semifinals. 
  • The Warriors and Raiders have combined for nine national title game appearances with five total championships - three for Indian Hills (1997, 1998, 1999) and one for Northwest Florida State (2022, 2015).

WARRIORS AT HUTCH

The Warriors will be making their sixth all-time appearance in the final four, and second since the tournament switched to a single-elimination format in 2013.

  • The Warriors finished as runners-up in 2014 after falling in the national title game.
  • Indian Hills is the only team in junior college history to win three consecutive national titles - 1997, 1998, 1999.
  • The Warriors previously placed 4th in its first-ever appearance at the national tournament in 1993 and again in 2001.
  • The Warriors are 29-18 all-time in the national tournament.
  • Indian Hills is 1-3 all-time vs. teams from the state of Florida at the national tournament. 
  • Northwest Florida State becomes the sixth team that Indian Hills has now faced at least twice in its 18 appearances at the national tournament, joining Odessa, San Jacinto, Dixie State, Monroe, and Barton.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS

Northwest Florida State enters the semifinal round on an eight-game winning streak after winning the ultra-competitive South Atlantic District and securing a pair of wins in the opening two rounds of the national tournament.

  • Sophomore standouts Chad Baker-Mazara and Kasean Pryor are averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game. Pryor scored a game-high 30 points in this year's matchup with the Warriors in November while Baker-Mazara was held scoreless.
  • Northwest Florida State shot just 20.0 percent from three-point range in its opening game of the national tournament, but connected on 10 three-point shots on 19 attempts in its win over Vinceness in the quarterfinals.
  • The Raiders are averaging 79.7 points per game this year, but have been held below 71 points in three of the team's last four contests.
  • Indian Hills scored the most points in a game against the Raiders this year with the 108 on November 16.

SERIES HISTORY

The two national powerhouse programs have squared off five times, all coming since the 2013-14 season, including this year's No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle in Ottumwa. The Warriors and Raiders will also be meeting in the NJCAA National Tournament for the second consecutive year. All five matchups have also come when both teams have been nationally ranked.

  • November 16, 2022 - Ottumwa, IA  |  #2 IHCC 108, #1 NWF 99
    • Eddiean Tirado and Don McHenry combined for 46 points to lead the Warriors to an impressive victory in a matchup of the top two ranked teams in the nation.
  • March 15, 2022 – Hutchinson, KS  |  #11 NWF 65, #6 IHCC 64
    • In the team's first-ever meeting in the national tournament, it was Northwest Florida once again that earned a one-point victory as the Raiders went on to win the national title. Enoch Kalambay put up a team-high 19 points.
  • November 22, 2019 – Niceville, FL  |  #18 NWF 65, # 3 IHCC 64
    • The Warriors suffered their second consecutive one-point loss in an as many games as a last second shot rolled off the rim for Indian Hills. Tyon Grant-Foster led the Warriors with 16 points and seven boards.
  • December 1, 2018 – Ottumwa, IA  |  #1 NWF 86, #12 IHCC 72
    • Indian Hills held an early lead, but Javion Hamlet's 26 points were too much to overcome as the Raiders earned its first-ever win at Hellyer. Tomas Woldetensae led the way with 16 points for Indian Hills
  • November 30, 2013 – Niceville, FL  |  #2 IHCC 89, #10 NWF 88 (OT)
    • Marcus Posley buried a three-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to knock off the No. 10 nationally ranked Raiders. The win lifted Indian Hills to the No. 1 spot in the national poll as Indian Hills made a run to the 2013-14 NJCAA DI Men's Basketball title game.

WHAT'S NEXT

The National Title game. Friday night's winner will advance to the 2023 NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Championship against the winner of the John A. Logan / Tallahassee matchup which gets underway at 5:00 PM CDT Friday night.