Hutchinson, KS – The fifth-seeded Indian Hills Men's Basketball team advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Basketball semifinals with a thrilling 74-68 win over No. 13 Odessa College (TX) Wednesday night. The Warriors advance to Thursday night's final four at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Indian Hills knocked off the Wranglers in the national quarterfinals for the second consecutive season to make it two straight trips to the semifinals of the national tournament. 2024 marks just the third time in program history the Warriors reached the semifinal round in consecutive seasons, joining the historic run from 1997-99 that saw three straight national titles. The Warriors will square off with No. 1 nationally ranked and top-seeded Barton Community College (KS) at 5:00 PM (CDT) on Thursday night for a chance to advance to the national finals.
The Warriors were led by sophomore TJ Morris (Queens, NY/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) who poured in a team-high 19 points while adding six assists, four rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot. Fellow sophomore Chris Mpaka (Kinsasha, Congo/Frank Phillips) proved to be a force in the paint all night long, scoring 16 points on 6-8 shooting while grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds.
Trevion LaBeaux (Waterloo, IA/Ames) chipped in 13 points while Braden Sparks (Villa Rica, GA/Mercer) led the Warriors with seven assists and tallied 11 points. Kheni Briggs (Kannapolis, NC/Charleston Southern) came off the bench to knock down three key three-point shots for the Warrior offense.
The Warriors saw another efficient shooting night from the free throw line, going 17-22 (77.3 percent) from the stripe to aid in the victory. The Indian Hills facilitators assisted on 19 of the team's 25 field goals on the night, a season-high 76.0 percent of its makes. The Warriors also limited its miscues on the night, totaling just 11 turnovers in the win.
Along with Mpaka's presence down low, the Warriors outscored the Wranglers 34-20 in the paint and used a 14-2 advantage on fast break points.
Indian Hills erased an early eight-point deficit in the first half as Briggs connected on a three at the 6:07 mark to spark the offense. Four points from Morris and a clutch three from Sparks contributed to a 9-0 spurt for the Warriors that led to a 34-32 lead at halftime.
Morris beat the shot clock buzzer with a three to open the second half and the Warrior offense continued to build its advantage. A three from Sparks at the 13:22 mark pushed the lead to 10, 48-38, but the Wranglers managed to hang around. The 13th seeded squad from Odessa, TX eventually knotted the game at 63-all with under four to play, but it was Briggs again with a key three-point shot to put Indian Hills back on top at the 3:14 mark. Indian Hills connected on six free throws over the closing minutes to seal the victory and punch its ticket to the semis.
Wednesday's matchup was the fourth all-time postseason meeting between the two teams at the Hutchinson Sports Arena with the Warriors winning all four contests, including last year's overtime winner.
Head coach Josh Sash becomes just the second coach in school history to reach the semifinal round of the national tournament in his first season, joining former coach Mike Capaccio whose 1998-99 team won the national title, the third of three straight championships.
The Warriors will now turn their attention to the top-seeded Cougars, a team that owns a 34-1 record heading into Thursday's affair which can be seen live on ESPN+. The Cougars defeated No. 8 Northwest Florida State College 87-73 in Wednesday's quarterfinal titl. Thursday's matchup will be the second all-time meeting in the postseason between the two teams.
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TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: 2024 NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Championship
