Ottumwa -- Indian Hills used an 11-2 run over the game's final three minutes to stay undefeated with a 79-77 win over Kirkwood CC on Tuesday night at the Hellyer Center.
The victory pushed the Warriors' season-opening winning streak to 11 games, but it didn't come without some anxious moments. And it was secured until two potential game-tying shots by Kirkwood in the final seconds were off the mark.
Indian Hills was down 75-68 after a Matt Tiby layup with just over three minutes to play. Tiby led all scorers with 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for Kirkwood, ranked 4th in Division II.
IHCC's Jameel McKay and Brandon Spearman had consecutive field goals to bring the Warriors back to within three at 75-72.
Following a Kirkwood free throw, Roderick Bobbitt made two big plays to allow the Warriors to tie the score. Bobbitt first made a shot from just to the right of the basket as he was falling down and then, after a miss by the Eagles, he fed McKay with a perfect pass for a layup to make it 76-all.
One of the key calls in the game came on Kirkwood's possession following the tying field goal. The Eagles were called for a charging foul and it was ruled that Indian Hills' D.J. Bennett, who drew the charge, would get two free throws.
Bennett, who had only attempted three foul shots all year coming into the game, calmly made both free throws to put the Warriors on top, 78-76. Bennett, then rebounded a missed attempt by the Eagles but was called for traveling, giving Kirkwood the ball underneath their basket.
Tiby was fouled with 16 seconds left and hit one of two free throws to leave the Eagles down by one, 78-77. Indian Hills got the ball to Brandon Spearman who was fouled and, after missing his first attempt, made the second shot to supply the final point of the game.
But Warrior fans had to wait to celebrate until Kirkwood missed the final two shots of the contest.
Indian Hills twice led by seven points in the first half, but needed a three-pointer at the buzzer by Bobbitt to take a one-point halftime lead.
The second half was close until Kirkwood got some breathing room with five quick points for a seven-point advantage.
Indian Hills battled foul trouble throughout the second half -- at one point four different players had four fouls and one, Ronnie Stevens, fouled out with 7:45 to play.
Free-throw shooting also hurt the Warriors who were just 13-of-28 at the line in the second half.
McKay paced the Warriors with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Bobbitt added 13 and Bennett 11.
Kirkwood, who already owns two wins over Marshalltown and one over Southeastern, is 8-2. The Warriors have their longest winning streak to open a season since the 2006-07 squad started 33-0.
INDIAN HILLS 79, KIRKWOOD 77
INDIAN HILLS Brandon Spearman 3 1-2 9, Gary Ricks, Jr. 1 2-2 5, DeAndray Buckley 0 5-6 5, Michael Haynes 3 1-6 7, D.J. Bennett 3 5-7 11, Kieran Woods 3 1-3 7, Jameel McKay 7 0-0 14, Roderick Bobbitt 5 0-0 13, Dustin Hogue 0 1-4 1, Ronnie Stevens 0 7-10 7, Trinson White 0 0-0 0 Team 25 23-40 79
KIRKWOOD Matt Tiby 9 4-7 22, Antione Howard 5 2-4 12, Mike Weber 1 5-6 8, Eddie Denard 3 1-4 7, Preston Brunz 1 7-8 9, Rodney Prior 0 0-0 0, Gage Heffernan 3 3-4 9, Kasey Semler 0 0-0 0, Devan Douglas 3 0-0 6, Kevin Hunter 1 0-0 3, Tayler Bontrager 0 0-0 0, Dominic Wilder 0 0-0 0 Team 26 22-35 77
Halftime score: Indian Hills 38, Kirkwood 37; Three-point field goals: IHCC 6 (Bobbitt 3, Spearman 2, Ricks 1), KCC 2 (Weber, Hunter 1)
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