Ottumwa, IA – No. 12 Indian Hills Men's Basketball returned from its holiday break with a 76-63 win over Cloud County Community College (KS) on Saturday night at the Hellyer Center. The Warriors outscored the Thunderbirds by 18 in the second half to record their fifth consecutive win.
The Warriors improve to 11-3 overall on the year and close out the first half of the season with a 9-1 record at home. Freshman Kheni Briggs (Kannapolis, NC/Charleston Southern) racked up a game-high 18 points after connecting on six three-point shots in the win. Sophomore TJ Morris (Queens, NY/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) added 15 points off the bench to spark the Warriors.
Facing a five-point deficit at halftime, the Warrior offense found its groove to open the second half and eventually ran away from Cloud County to pick up their second win in as many seasons over the Thunderbirds. Indian Hills shot 48.6 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes of play to secure the win.
As a team, the Warriors controlled the glass with a 44-29 rebounding advantage, including a 16-6 edge on the offensive side. Led by a season-high five helpers from sophomore Trevion LaBeaux (Waterloo, IA/Ames), the Warriors assisted on 15 of the team's 24 field goals, the best ratio this season for Indian Hills. LaBeaux added seven points, seven rebounds, and a pair of blocks in the win.
Following a 16-day layoff, the Warriors returned to action Saturday night with a quick start as Braden Sparks (Villa Rica, GA/Mercer) and Davontae Hall (Chicago, IL/Hyde Park) connected on back-to-back three-point shots for an early 6-0 lead. The Thunderbirds responded with a 13-0 run to jump on top before another Hall three-pointer slowed the spurt. Cloud County maintained its advantage and eventually built a double-digit lead before David Hermes (Stockholm, Sweden/Central Pointe) scored four points in the final minute of the opening half to bring Indian Hills within five, 33-28 at the break.
A pair of buckets and a three-point shot from Briggs ignited the Warrior offense to open the second half to give Indian Hills its first lead in over 16 minutes, 36-35 at the 17:28 mark. Briggs continued to have the hot hand, connecting on three three-point shots in a three-minute span to put the Warriors ahead 54-48 midway through the frame. Briggs added two more three's in consecutive possessions to push the lead to double-digits, an advantage the Warriors never relinquished.
Indian Hills returns to action on January 6 for its final home game of its nine-game homestand. The Warriors will host Highland Community College (IL) at 7:00 PM.
Buy tickets for Saturday's matchup online: INDIAN HILLS VS. HIGHLAND
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:
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