Ottumwa, IA – Davontae Hall (Chicago, IL/Hyde Park) joined an exclusive list of Indian Hills Men's Basketball stars throughout the years to hit a game-winning three-point shot as the sophomore's running three beat the clock to give the Warriors a 69-68 win over the College of Southern Idaho in the finale of the Reed Overhead Doors Classic on Saturday night.
Hall banked home a 25-foot dagger opposite side of the Warriors' bench at the buzzer to send the Hellyer Center into a frenzy. A night after leading the Warriors with a season-high 17 points to knock off No. 3 Vincennes University, Hall followed up with a memorable moment in Indian Hills Basketball history. The sophomore's three at the buzzer gave Hall a team-high 15 points in the win.
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— Indian Hills Basketball (@ihccbasketball) December 10, 2023
Davontae Hall beats the buzzer to knock off CSI at home��@Lilticket_ | #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/Jx0InOOPoY
Indian Hills, ranked No. 14 in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball poll, improves to 9-3 on the year after finishing the Reed Overhead Doors Classic unbeaten at 2-0 with the win over NJCAA Preseason No. 10 Southern Idaho. The Warriors have now won three straight and five of their last six contests while securing its sixth win over a team that appeared in the preseason national rankings.
Hall finished the night going 5-7 from the floor, including 2-3 from three-point range while adding three steals and three rebounds. Sophomore Chris Mpaka (Kinshasa, Congo/Frank Phillips) recorded his first double-double of the year with 12 points and a season-best 15 rebounds. Braden Sparks (Villa Rica, GA/Mercer), who provided the game-winning assist, added 13 points, three steals, three assists, and five rebounds.
TJ Morris (Queens, NY/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) sparked the offense in the opening half to finish with 10 points while Trevion LaBeaux (Waterloo, IA/Ames) corralled 11 rebounds to go along with six points.
The Warriors returned to the Hellyer Center Saturday after scoring its biggest win of the year against previously unbeaten Vincennes on Friday night. Trialing 11-9 in the opening minutes of action Saturday, the Warriors strung together a 10-0 run, including six points from Morris to pull ahead early. A three from Hall pushed the lead to 27-15 midway through the half before the Golden Eagles slowly chipped away at the deficit. Southern Idaho battled back in the closing minutes of the opening frame to pull within two, 37-35 at halftime.
The Golden Eagles came out firing to open the second half and took its first lead in nearly 15 minutes and built a 45-41 edge. The two Blue Blood NJCAA programs battled back-and-forth to exchange leads with neither side holding a lead by more than three until the Golden Eagles took a five-point lead, 62-57, with 1:24 to play.
The Golden Eagles held a 68-66 lead with five seconds to play before Sparks grabbed a missed free throw and rushed up the court, dodging the Southern Idaho defense. The sophomore found a streaking Hall on the left side who connected on the running one-foot shot that kissed the glass and sent the Warriors to victory.
Hall becomes the second Warrior this season, and third in the last two years, to hit a game-winning three-point shot at the Hellyer Center. Sparks provided the heroics back on Nov. 11 in a 75-72 win over then-No. 20 Moberly Area College (MO) on an assist from Hall.
The Warriors won the rebounding battle with a sizable 50-34 margin as Mpaka and LaBeaux combined for more than half of the Warriors' boards. Indian Hills turned 18 offensive rebounds into 19 second-change points while the Golden Eagles scored just two second chance points.
Indian Hills returns to the Hellyer Center on December 14 to take on Seward County Community College (KS) at 7:00 PM.
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