Monday, January 25, 2010

Strong 'D' Leaves IHCC Alone in First Place

Council Bluffs, IA --- Indian Hills used a tenacious defensive effort to defeat Iowa Western, 63-49, and take over sole possession of first place in the conference on Saturday night. The Warriors (19-4, 2-0) held Iowa Western to 32% percent field goal shooting, just 26% in the second half, as IHCC won their second straight Region XI contest in their first league road test.

Iowa Western (15-5, 1-1) made only 1-of-12 three-point attempts and the Warriors used a late 11-1 run to open up a comfortable lead and coast to their 8th win in a row overall and their 14th win in their last 15 games.

Indian Hills trailed only once all night after the Reivers' Charlie Westbrook scored the first basket of the game. The Warriors responded with six consecutive points on field goals by Aaron Austin, Bruno Ferreira and Chano Rashiduddin to take a lead they would never relinquish.

Iowa Western was within a point at 24-23, but IHCC scored the next five points. Austin's pair of free throws allowed the Warriors to take a five-point halftime lead.

Freshman guard Derrick Hill gave Indian Hills a spark off the bench when he scored nine straight points in the opening half. Hill entered the game about midway through the half and promptly nailed three shots in a row - a couple of three-pointers and another bucket with his foot on the three-point line - and then added a free throw. Hill made another three-pointer in the second half and led all scorers with 12 points.

Indian Hills opened the second half with a 6-1 spurt to build the lead to 10 and the home team didn't get closer than seven points the rest of the night.

Brian Wilson had four points and six rebounds in a reserve role for IHCC. His free throw gave the Warriors a 46-32 lead with a little over 12 minutes to play. Iowa Western whittled the deficit to 52-45 and that's when Indian Hills clinched the victory by scoring 11 of the next 12 points.

Larry Stone fed Dijon Farr for a bucket, Dwan McMillan made two free throws, Stone added a hoop and Farr threw down a vicious one-handed dunk on a breakaway. The Warriors put the exclamation point on the win when Austin buried a three from the corner.

Iowa Western managed only six second-half field goals and the 49 points they scored were 31 under their season average.

Farr added 10 points to Hill's 12 for IHCC. Westbrook, Sammy Emile and Petey Hausley all scored 10 for the Reivers.

A key to the IHCC win was the Warriors' defensive job on Iowa Western guards Anthony Salter and Shay Shine, both preseason All-Americans. They were a combined 2-of-18 from the floor.

Indian Hills is the only conference team to make it through the first two weeks of league play unscathed. They are a game ahead of both Iowa Western and Southeastern, which defeated Marshalltown 75-72 in West Burlington Saturday night.

Next up for the Warriors is a visit by Southeastern. The last time the BlackHawks played in Ottumwa they ended the Warriors' season with an overtime win in the deciding game of the Region XI best-of-three series last March. Tipoff will be at 7:00 this Saturday night at the Hellyer Center. .

INDIAN HILLS 63, IOWA WESTERN 49

INDIAN HILLS Dwan McMillan 2 3-5 9, Aaron Austin 2 4-4 9, Brandon Garrett 0 0-0 0, Bruno Ferreira 2 1-2 5, Chano Rashiduddin 3 0-0 6, Derrick Hill 4 1-2 12, Dijon Farr 4 2-2 10, Larry Stone 3 2-2 8, Brian Wilson 1 2-4 4, E.J. Hicks 0 0-0 0, Alex Vouyoukas 0 0-0 0, Chad Dillard 0 0-0 0 Team 21 15-21 63

IOWA WESTERN Anthony Salter 2 0-0 4, Shay Shine 0 4-6 4, Charlie Westbrook 3 4-5 10, Sammy Emile 3 4-5 10, J.R. Weathers 1 1-2 3, Wesley Cox 0 3-4 3, Jimmy Williams 0 0-0 0, Jeff Allgood 1 0-0 3, Emarri Bailey 1 0-0 2, Petey Hausley 4 2-6 10 Team 15 18-29 49

Halftime score: Indian Hills 31, Iowa Western 26; Three-point field goals: IHCC 6 (Hill 3, McMillan 2, Austin 1), IWCC 1 (Allgood 1); Rebounds: IHCC 30 (McMillan, Ferreira, Wilson 6), IWCC 26 (Weathers 7); Turnovers: IHCC 20, IWCC 18; Blocks: IHCC 4 (Farr 2), IWCC 4 (Westbrook 2); Steals: IHCC 8 (McMillan 4), IWCC 7 (Westbrook, Emile 2)

Monday, January 18, 2010

Farr's Late FG Rescues Warriors

Ottumwa -- Dijon Farr's layup off a perfectly executed baseline out-of-bounds play allowed Indian Hills to steal a win in the Region XI opener against Marshalltown Saturday night. Farr's basket, from a feed from Dwan McMillan, put the Warriors on top 78-77 and Marshalltown was unable to get the ball past halfcourt in their final possession.

The game-winner by Farr, who led the IHCC scoring with 19 points, came about 16 seconds after MCC's Henrique Medeiros gave the Tigers the advantage with a three-pointer with 20.5 seconds remaining. Medeiros' three-ball came on a nice pass from Tyler Brown. Everybody in the gym probably expected Brown to take the shot for MCC. After all, he had made nine 3's and 11 of his 14 shots up to that point in the game. But Brown drew two defenders and then passed to a wide-open Medeiros who buried what looked like a game-winning shot for the Tigers.

The Warriors though showed a resiliency in the final seconds that they had exhibited earlier in the evening after falling behind by as many as 18 points in the first half. When Brown nailed his 7th three of the opening half, Marshalltown had a 39-21 lead and Brown had outscored IHCC all by himself, 25-21.

That's when Indian Hills altered their offensive strategy. Coach Jeff Kidder had his team spread the court on offense and drive the gaps in the Tigers' zone defense. It paid off to the tune of a 16-0 run to close the first half, a spurt which got the Warriors back to within two points at intermission..

Farr started the IHCC run with a three-pointer. Aaron Austin had two straight field goals, one of them a three. Bruno Ferreira added a free throw and McMillan finished a three-point play to keep the run going. After Farr scored to cut the lead to 39-35, he and Austin combined for the final basket of the half.

Indian Hills got the ball out of bounds in their backcourt after an MCC turnover. With just 1.9 seconds of the clock, Farr found Austin streaking toward the Tigers' goal with no one back for Marshalltown and Austin's layup beat the first-half buzzer and sent the Warriors off with halftime momentum.

Indian Hills scored the first six points of the second half to take a 43-39 lead and extend their run of unanswered points to 22.

The Warriors eventually built the lead to eight at 51-43. Brown's first basket of the second half, a three, cut the lead to two and Mike Willis followed with a tying field goal for the Tigers. Willis had 13 of his 15 points in the second half.

Larry Stone's three-pointer snapped the tie and Stone had two more field goals, including another three, as the Warriors again built the lead to eight on five straight points by McMillan.

Once again, MCC stormed back with an 8-0 run which ended when Brown made his 9th three-pointer of the game, tying the score at 70.

McMillan's basket with three minutes to play gave IHCC the lead, but Willis tied it on an inside bucket. Ferreira scored on an offensive rebound goal for the Warriors, but Will Clyburn made two free throws after an intentional foul call on IHCC to tie the score for the final time at 74-74.

Austin's floater in the lane with under a minute to play gave Indian Hills a 76-74 lead and set the stage for the final heroics by Medeiros and Farr.

For the game, Marshalltown made 14-of-23 three-pointers for 61%.

Each team had four players in double figures with Brown's 31 leading all scorers. The Warriors had good balance with Stone getting 17, McMillan 14 and Austin 12 to go along with the 19 scored by Farr.

The Warriors extended their winning streak to seven and their home record to 15-0. They will take an 18-4 mark to Council Bluffs to battle Iowa Western. The Reivers opened their conference schedule at home with a 79-72 win over Southeastern on Saturday.

INDIAN HILLS 78, MARSHALLTOWN 77

INDIAN HILLS Dwan McMillan 6 2-4 14, Aaron Austin 5 0-0 12, Brandon Garrett 2 0-1 4, Bruno Ferreira 2 3-5 7, Chano Rashiduddin 0 0-0 0, Derrick Hill 0 0-0 0, Dijon Farr 8 1-4 19, Larry Stone 6 2-2 17, Brian Wilson 0 0-0 0, E.J. Hicks 2 0-0 5, Chad Dillard 0 0-0 0 Team 31 8-16 78

MARSHALLTOWN Will Clyburn 3 4-6 11, Tyler Brown 11 0-0 31, Luiz Paulo 2 2-4 6, Mike Willis 7 1-2 15, Vesteinn Sveinsson 0 0-0 0, Charleston Smith 0 0-0 0, Henrique Medeiros 4 0-0 11, Michael Appel 1 0-0 3, Rashad Porter 0 0-0 0 Team 28 7-12 77

Halftime score: Marshalltown 39, Indian Hills 37; Three-point field goals: IHCC 8 (Stone 3, Austin 2, Farr 2, Hicks 1), MCC 14 (Brown 9, Medeiros 3, Clyburn 1, Appel 1)

Monday, January 11, 2010

Warriors Tune Up for League Season With Road Win

Norfolk, Nebraska -- The Indian Hills basketball team entered last week with only one win away from home all season. Now, after back-to-back road victories, the Warriors are ready to begin conference play next weekend.

The Warriors, coming off a win at Moberly last Tuesday, made the long trip to Northeast (Neb.) Saturday and posted an 82-57 victory over the Hawks.

Indian Hills used a 12-1 run to break the game open in the first half and then closed the half by scoring 11 straight points to increase the lead to 23 at intermission. Five different players scored points in the 12-1 spurt that broke a 12-all tie. Four IHCC players chipped in during the 11-0 run to end the half.

Northeast (8-8) managed only five field goals in the opening half.

IHCC quickly expanded the lead to 30 points at the start of the second half and led by as many as 34 in the final stanza.

Twelve players saw action for Indian Hills and all of them scored. Sophomore guards Larry Stone and Aaron Austin led the way with 13 points each and freshman forward Dijon Farr added 12. Stone has scored at least 12 points in six of the last seven games.

Indian Hills is 17-4 and has won six in a row and 12 of its last 13 games. The lone loss in that span was an overtime defeat to Penn Valley.

Next up for the Warriors is the start of conference play this Saturday against Marshalltown CC. That game, at the Hellyer Center, will give IHCC a chance to improve on its 14-0 home record.

INDIAN HILLS 82, NORTHEAST 57

INDIAN HILLS Dwan McMillan 1 6-10 8, Aaron Austin 4 4-5 13, Brandon Garrett 3 1-2 7, Bruno Ferreira 1 0-0 2, Chano Rashiduddin 3 2-3 8, Derrick Hill 1 2-4 5, Dijon Farr 5 0-0 12, Larry Stone 6 0-0 13, Brian Wilson 3 0-2 6, E.J. Hicks 1 0-0 2, Alex Vouyoukas 1 2-3 4, Chad Dillard 1 0-0 2 Team 30 17-29 82

NORTHEAST Kevin Thompson 2 4-7 8, Zach Towle 0 1-2 1, Thomas Colbert 3 5-6 11, Nicholas Mabbutt 0 0-0 0, Tilman Isensee 1 4-4 6, David Taylor 5 0-1 10, Brad Pieper 0 0-0 0, Sean Stevens 0 0-0 0, Seth Wendt 3 2-2 11, Matthew Julkes 2 0-0 4, Dol Kutey 0 0-0 0, Jayvin Reynolds 2 0-0 4, Preston Williams 1 0-2 2 Team 19 16-24 57

Halftime score: Indian Hills 42, Northeast 19; Three-point field goals: IHCC 5 (Farr 2, Austin, Hill, Stone 1), NECC 3 (Wendt 3)

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Kidder Gets 400th Win, Warriors Prevail at Moberly

Moberly, MO -- Indian Hills coach Jeff Kidder got his 400th career victory and the Warriors picked up a much-needed road win Tuesday night, holding off Moberly Area CC to win 67-64. The win was the fourth in a row for the Warriors and their 16th against four losses overall. Moberly (13-4) lost their third straight after winning 13 in a row.

Larry Stone made one of two free throws with seven seconds to play to put the Warriors ahead by three points, and Moberly's Antwaun Boyd then missed a three-pointer just before the buzzer that would have tied it for the Greyhounds. It was the second time in less than a week that the Warriors won a three-point game from a Region 16 foe. They defeated Mineral Area, 52-49, last Wednesday at the Hellyer Center.

Indian Hills fought through another slow start on the road to take a 23-19 first-half lead after scoring 15 unanswered points. Five different players scored for the Warriors during the run which was capped by a Dwan McMillan jumper in the lane.

Moberly erased a six-point IHCC lead in the final minutes of the first half and tied the score at 33 at the half when Boyd hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner.

The Greyhounds had two two-point leads to start the second half. McMillan gave the Warriors the lead for good when he converted a three-point play. The lead would eventually grow to 10 at 58-48, but the Warriors couldn't quite put Moberly away.

MACC whittled the lead down to two when Boyd buried a three with 8.6 seconds remaining. Stone's free throw provided the final margin.

Dijon Farr helped the Warriors get untracked offensively in the first half when he hit back-to-back 3's. Farr had 12 of his team-high 18 points in the first 20 minutes. McMillan and Stone added 13 apiece for IHCC.

Boyd led all scorers with 21 points for the Greyhounds. Indian Hills limited MACC's leading scorer, Karron Johnson, to 10 points, 13 under his average.

With the win, Indian Hills continues their recent success against Moberly. The Warriors have won the last 10 meetings with MACC and 15 of the last 17.

Coach Kidder is undefeated in nine games against the Greyhounds with five of those wins coming in Moberly. His milestone victory came in his 15th season as a head coach, the last five at Indian Hills. His record with the Warriors is 133-25 and his overall mark is 400-95. Kidder is the 37th active coach in the JUCO ranks with 400 wins.

The road win was only the second of the season for the Warriors. They will go back on the road this weekend for a Saturday night game at Northeast CC in Norfolk, Nebraska.

INDIAN HILLS 67, MOBERLY 64

INDIAN HILLS Dwan McMillan 5 3-5 13, Aaron Austin 3 2-5 9, Brandon Garrett 3 0-0 6, Bruno Ferreira 0 0-0 0, Chano Rashiduddin 0 0-0 0, Derrick Hill 1 0-0 3, Dijon Farr 6 3-4 18, Larry Stone 4 3-4 13, Brian Wilson 0 0-0 0, E.J. Hicks 1 0-0 3, Alex Vouyoukas 1 0-0 2 Team 24 11-18 67

MOBERLY Karron Johnson 4 2-4 10, Antwaun Boyd 8 1-2 21, Jerret Towns 4 1-2 11, Eric Saunders 2 0-0 5, Dezmond Hickman 0 0-0 0, Victor Leak 0 0-0 0, Brandon Williams 2 5-6 9, Latrail McCoy 1 4-5 6, Jahmon Smith 0 2-2 2 Team 21 16-23 64

Halftime score: Indian Hills 33, Moberly 33; Three-point field goals: IHCC 8 (Farr 3, Stone 2, Austin 1, Hill 1, Hicks 1), MACC 7 (Boyd 4, Towns 2, Saunders 1)

Saturday, January 2, 2010

What a Decade!

Ottumwa -- When this year's Indian Hills basketball team ended the 2009 portion of its schedule with a win against Western Nebraska on December 31 it brought to an end an extremely successful decade of IHCC basketball. In fact, it's hard to imagine that many basketball programs, at any level, had a better record than Indian Hills over that 10-year period.

The win over WNCC, the 15th of this season for the Warriors, was the 274th posted by Indian Hills between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009. The IHCC record for the decade of 274-70 translates into a winning percentage of .797.

Although they didn't approach the national success of the previous 10-year period when Indian Hills won an unprecedented three consecutive national titles, Indian Hills did make four trips to the national tourney and won four conference championships. IHCC had five first-team All-Americans in the past 10 years.

The Warriors' home record for the decade was a jaw-dropping 170-19, a Hellyer Center winning percentage of better than 85 percent.

Friday, January 1, 2010

IHCC Ends '09 With Victory

Ottumwa, IA -- Playing for the third time in three days following a Christmas layoff, the Indian Hills Warriors closed out the 2009 calendar year with a convincing win against Western Nebraska Thursday at the Hellyer Center. The visitors led only once, at 4-2, as the Warriors rolled to a 75-55 win that keeps them unbeaten at home, 14-0 for the season.

Indian Hills went on a 9-0 run after the early two-point lead by Western Nebraska, with three-pointers by Aaron Austin and Dijon Farr igniting the run. The Cougars pulled to within three points later in the half before the Warriors used a 13-3 run to take a 10-point halftime lead.

Western Nebraska was held without a field goal for the first five minutes of the second half as IHCC quickly built the margin to 20 points. The visitors never got closer than 15 points after that.

Brian Wilson provided a spark off the bench for Indian Hills, scoring 15 points, 10 of them coming in the second half. He led five Warriors in double figures.

Francisco Cruz of WNCC led all scorers with 18 points. He had six of his team's eight field goals in the second half and eight of their 17 baskets for the game.

Indian Hills is 15-4 with their next two games on the road, where they have won only once all year in five tries. The Warriors travel to Moberly, Missouri to take on the Greyhounds next Tuesday night.

INDIAN HILS 75, WESTERN NEBRASKA 55

INDIAN HILLS Dwan McMillan 2 6-11 10, Aaron Austin 5 0-0 12, Brandon Garrett 1 2-2 4, Bruno Ferreira 2 2-2 6, Chano Rashiduddin 1 1-2 3, Derrick Hill 0 0-0 0, Dijon Farr 3 2-4 11, Larry Stone 4 2-2 12, Brian Wilson 7 1-2 15, E.J. Hicks 1 0-0 2, Alex Vouyoukas 0 0-0 0, Chad Dillard 0 0-0 0 Team 26 16-25 75

WESTERN NEBRASKA Geoffrey Firmin 2 0-0 5, Andre Marone 0 0-0 0, Saul Torres 0 1-3 1, O'Rion Hughes 2 4-4 8, Joe Stock 1 0-0 3, Francisco Cruz 8 0-0 18, Brylle Kamen 3 4-7 12, Ritchie Mundende 0 0-0 0, Geddes Robinson 1 6-7 8 Team 17 15-21 55

Halftime score: Indian Hills 36, Western Nebraska 26; Three-point field goals: IHCC 7 (Farr 3, Stone, Austin 2), WNCC 6 (Cruz, Kamen 2, Firmin, Stock 1)