Ottumwa, IA – For the sixth consecutive season, and 20th time overall, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball Region 11 Championship will come down to two teams separated by just 78 miles – Indian Hills and Southeastern.
DETAILS: NJCAA Region 11 Championship
Saturday, March 9 | 7:00 PM
Ottumwa, IA | Hellyer Center
WATCH LIVE: GoHillsTV
LIVE STATS: Indian Hills vs. Southeastern
TICKETS: Buy Online
GAME SPONSOR: Reed Excavation
PROMOTION: Indian Hills Women's Wrestling, Men's Track & Field National Championship pre-game and halftime celebration.
STARTING FIVE
The Warriors host the NJCAA Region 11 Championship as the No. 1 overall seed after running through the ICCAC with a 4-0 mark on the year. Indian Hills, ranked No. 10 in the final NJCAA poll, owns a 25-5 overall record.
- The Warriors are coming off a convincing win over previous No. 3 nationally ranked Triton College (IL) on March 2, a 93-72 victory at the Hellyer Center.
- Indian Hills has won nine consecutive contests heading into the postseason, its longest streak of the year.
- Sophomore TJ Morris has won back-to-back ICCAC Athlete of the Week honors after pouring in a season-high 20 points against Triton.
- Indian Hills and Southeastern both rank in the top-25 in the nation in total rebounds, the Warriors ranked No. 19 and Southeastern 21st.
- The Hellyer Center currently ranks fourth in the nation in total attendance with 7,510 on the year.
LAST TIME OUT
Indian Hills dropped Southeastern 78-69 at the Hellyer Center back on February 24 to sweep the regular season series with the Blackhawks and clinch the regular season ICCAC title.
- Sophomore Davontae Hall poured in 19 points while Braden Sparks tallied 14 and TJ Morris added 10.
- Indian Hills connected on 47.1 percent of its three-point shots as Hall, Sparks, and Morris combined to shoot 60.0 percent from three.
- The Warriors have outrebounded the Blackhawks in each meeting this year, including a 49-27 edge in the first matchup in Burlington on January 20.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday night's contest will be the 147th all-time meeting between the two teams, and the 42nd all-time meeting in the postseason. The Warriors are 21-20 against the Blackhawks in the playoffs, with the first all-time meeting in postseason play occuring in 1964.
- Over the span of the last 140 contests, dating back to the 1970-71 season, the two teams are separated by just five points - 10,133-10,128 in favor of the Warriors.
- The Warriors have won six of the last seven in the series, and are 7-3 in the last 10 matchups at the Hellyer Center.
- Five of the last six postseason matchups have been decided by double-digits.
POSTSEASON HISTORY
The previous 10 NJCAA Region 11 titles have been won by one of these two teams, with Indian Hills taking eight titles and the Blackhawks the remaining two.
- The two teams have squared off 19 times to determine the Region champion since 1992 with Indian Hills securing 10 titles compared to nine for the Blackhawks.
- Over the past five seasons, the Warriors have claimed three Region titles compared to two for Southeastern, with the Blackhawks winning the most recent affair last season.
- Since 2003, the Warriors have claimed 11 Region titles while the Blackhawks have taken six titles.
- The two historic programs have combined for 37 trips to the NJCAA National Tournament (19 for Southeastern, 18 for Indian Hills) and have collected six national championships between the two. The Warriors claimed three consecutive national titles from 1997-1999 while the Blackhawks earned the 2000, 2003, and 2004 titles.
- For the first time in history, both teams earned a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament last season.
SCOUTING THE BLACKHAWKS
Southeastern (19-10) took home its semifinal matchup of the Region tournament on Wednesday night with a convincing win over Marshalltown, 103-50, to secure a spot in the title game at the Hellyer Center on Saturday night.
- After dropping its regular season ICCAC finale to Marshalltown on February 28, the Blackhawks bounced back to drop No. 19 nationally ranked Moberly Area Community College in the regular season finale, 71-64.
- After winning four straight contests, the Blackhawks are 2-2 in their last four, including a 78-69 loss to Indian Hills in Ottumwa on February 24.
- Southeastern currently ranks 11th in the nation in field goal percentage (50.6 percent) and ninth nationally with 30.9 defensive rebounds per game.
- Raphael Gay leads the Blackhawks with 13.2 points per contest, but has been held to just nine points total in the two meetings with the Warriors this year.
- Jacob Franklin is averaging 20.5 points per game in the two matchups with the Warriors this year, incluidng 23 points in the most recnet outing.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The winner of Saturday night's contest punches its ticket to the NJCAA North Central District Championship and will serve as host against the winner of NJCAA Region 13, North Dakota State College of Science. The Wildcats, ranked No. 20 in the final national poll, captured the NJCAA Region 13 title on March 16 and own a 31-1 record on the year.
NOTES FROM BRETT MONAGHAN, JOE O'BRIEN
"It is with great pleasure that we get the opportunity to work for two great institutions in Southeast Iowa in Indian Hills Community College and Southeastern Community College. Serving our student-athletes, athletic staff members, and the missions of each of our institutions is something we take tremendous pride in.
During our storied athletic histories, we have been lucky enough to experience the highest of highs, which our faithful followers get to see night in and night out through the multiple national championship banners aligning our gymnasium walls. The mutual respect that exists between our administrations, coaches, student-athletes, and other staff members is evident in not only our notable athletic accomplishments, but also in the day-to-day work we do for our students.
Our rich histories specific to men's basketball are well-respected across all levels of college basketball. With that deep respect comes a responsibility to carry ourselves in a manner that best represents how we want our programs to be viewed nationwide, as we are all a reflection of this. Looking ahead to this weekend's Region 11 Championship game, please remember that sportsmanship is key to the success of both of our basketball programs.
We look forward to welcoming all fans to the Hellyer Center Saturday night for another action-packed evening of junior college basketball between Indian Hills and Southeastern.
- Brett Monaghan, IHCC Athletic Director & Joe O'Brien, SCC Athletic Director
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of Indian Hills men's basketball games, both home and on the road. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
- Facebook: visit www.facebook.com/gohillstv
- GoHillsTV App: Download the GoHillsTV app on your android or ios device
- Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
- Roku Streaming Device (new): Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!
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