Monday, January 31, 2011

Dillard, Free Throws Pace IHCC Road Win

Marshalltown, IA -- Sophomore guard Chad Dillard matched his career high with 17 points and Indian Hills made all but one of its 18 free-throw attempts -- going 9-for-10 in the final 36.6 seconds -- to knock off Marshalltown CC, 67-61, on Saturday night. The win moves IHCC into a tie with Southeastern atop the Region 11 standings. Those two teams will square off next Saturday in Ottumwa.

Dillard's previous 17-point game had come in the Warriors' other conference road game at SCC.

His big night against MCC started in the first half when Dillard scored 11 straight points to help the Warriors build a 15-point lead.

Dillard drilled a three-pointer to give Indian Hills (19-6, 2-1 Region XI) its first double-digit lead at 18-8. After a 3 by the Tigers' Chris Caird, Dillard hit 3's on the next two IHCC possessions and then added a driving layup for the first of two 15-point, first-half leads for the Warriors.

Marshalltown (10-11, 1-2) fought back to within four when Sherman Blanford came off the bench to score nine points. But a Riley Stuve basket and a three by Gary Ricks, Jr. gave the Warriors a nine-point lead at intermission.

Marshalltown was within two points in the second half at 37-35, when Dillard drained two more 3's.

With the Tigers trying to make a late run, Indian Hills got two big baskets with the shot clock about to expire. Ricks made the first, a three-pointer, to put the score at 56-49 and Dijon Farr made a driving, spinning layup to give the Warriors some breathing room at 58-51 with just over a minute to play.

Ricks and Jerome Jones then hit the foul shots in the final minute to allow Indian Hills to become the first road team to win a conference game.

The Warriors had only eight field goals in the second half, but made 15 of their 16 foul shots.

Jones and Ricks each scored 14 points to support Dillard's 17-point effort for IHCC. Tyler Brown had 24 for Marshalltown.

The Warriors have a full week to prepare for Southeastern. SCC won the earlier matchup, 64-58, in West Burlington.

INDIAN HILLS 67, MARSHALLTOWN 61

INDIAN HILLS Stephen Coles 5 2-2 12, Jerome Jones 2 9-10 14, Derrick Hill 0 0-0 0, Dijon Farr 2 0-0 4, Trey Starks 0 0-0 0, Bruno Ferreira 1 0-0 2, Riley Stuve 1 0-0 2, Chad Dillard 6 0-0 17, Gary Ricks, Jr. 3 6-6 14, Latroy Taylor 1 0-0 2, D.J. Bennett 0 0-0 0 Team 21 17-18 67

MARSHALLTOWN Tyler Brown 9 2-3 24, Veisteinn Sveinsson 1 0-0 2, Sherman Blanford 6 2-3 14, Chris Caird 5 0-1 12, Rashaad Brown 0 0-0 0, Michael Appel 1 0-0 3, Luiz Santos 1 0-0 2, Nilson Santana 1 2-2 4 Team 24 6-9 61

Halftime score: Indian Hills 33, Marshalltown 24; Three-point field goals: IHCC 8 (Dillard 5, Ricks 2, Jones 1), MCC 7 (T. Brown 4, Caird 2, Appel 1)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Ricks and Jones Propel Warriors Over NIACC

Ottumwa -- The one-two punch of Jerome Jones and Gary Ricks, Jr. helped Indian Hills hold off a determined NIACC team and the Warriors prevailed, 82-74, in a non-conference game at the Hellyer Center on Wednesday night.

Jones had 28 points and Ricks scored 24, season highs for both, as they combined to hold off a late rally by the Trojans. NIACC (10-10) chopped a 12-point deficit down to four in the final minute, but Ricks buried his 6th three-pointer of the night and Jones added a free throw for the final margin.

Jones had 21 of his points in the second half and he grabbed 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Ricks' 6 3's were a single-game high and he's made 55 three-pointers for the season.

IHCC (18-6) was able to open up a 20-12 first-half lead, but NIACC used an 11-2 run to go ahead 23-22. The Trojans built the lead to five at 31-26 before consecutive baskets by Ricks, Stephen Coles and Jones put Indian Hills ahead. Jones' three enabled IHCC to lead by a point at halftime.

The Warriors had a 9-2 run early in the second half, punctuated by a three-point play by Jones, to lead by seven, but again NIACC roared back.

When Andre Garth hit a jump shot with around 8 minutes to play, NIACC had overtaken the Warriors again and led 55-54.

It was Ricks who provided the Warriors with the go-ahead points on a three-pointer and IHCC didn't trail again.

They tried to put away NIACC, grabbing a 74-62 advantage on a pair of free throws by Dijon Farr. However, the Trojans had one final rally, slicing the lead to four twice in the final 2:00, before Ricks and Jones allowed IHCC to hold on.

After shooting around 40% in the first half, each team warmed up in the second half. NIACC shot 59% (16-27) in the last half and the Warriors were at 64% (16-25). Both squads made over half of their 3's in the final 20 minutes, combining to hit four straight in four possessions in one stretch.

Nick Stromer led NIACC with 20 points and Jerel Jernigan added 16.

Indian Hills returns to conference play on Saturday night with a road test at Marshalltown CC.

INDIAN HILLS 82, NIACC 74

INDIAN HILLS Stephen Coles 4 1-3 9, Jerome Jones 11 2-4 28, Derrick Hill 0 1-2 1, Dijon Farr 3 3-4 9, Bruno Ferreira 1 1-3 3, Riley Stuve 0 1-2 1, Chad Dillard 1 4-4 7, Gary Ricks, Jr. 9 0-0 24, Latroy Taylor 0 0-0 0 Team 29 13-22 82

NIACC Nick Stromer 9 1-2 20, Jerel Jernigan 6 0-0 16, Kendale Dunn 1 0-2 2, Nathan Buchheit 2 0-0 4, Andrew Bolton 0 0-0 0, Chris Throne 4 0-0 11, Ricky Slaughter 0 0-0 0,Kendall Brown 0 0-0 0, Matt Thompson 2 1-2 6, Brandon Bell 2 1-2 5, Andre Garth 3 3 -4 9 Team 29 6-12 74

Halftime score: Indian Hills 35, NIACC 34; Three-point field goals: IHCC 11 (Ricks 6, Jones 4, Dillard 1), NIACC 9 (Jernigan 4, Throne 3, Stromer 1, Thompson 1)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Jones Sparks Warriors to Conference Win

Ottumwa -- A big second half and the strong all-around play of sophomore Jerome Jones led Indian Hills to its Region XI win, a 76-53 rout of Iowa Western at the Hellyer Center on Saturday night.

The Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory, their first in two league games. All four of the conference teams are 1-1 after two weeks of the league slate.

Indian Hills shot 61% in the second half and outscored the Reivers 47-27 over the final 20 minutes in notching their 17th win of the season.

Jones had 16 of his season-high 23 points in the last half and received plenty of help from freshman guard Gary Ricks, Jr. who scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.

Jones was also the game's leading rebounder with 13.

Jeremy Robinson had a double-double for Iowa Western with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The game was close through the first half. A three-pointer by Dijon Farr, the only made 3 out of 13 attempts in the opening half for IHCC, gave the Warriors a 27-24 lead. Ricks, Indian Hills' season scoring leader, hit a jump shot from the right of the lane for his first points of the game to give the Warriors a 29-26 lead at the half. They had trailed at halftime in every game in the three-game losing streak.

When Ricks hit a field goal to start the second-half scoring the Warriors were off and running. They used an 8-0 run to open up a 40-28 lead and a later 11-0 burst put the lead at 20.

Indian Hills, after struggling from behind the three-point arc in the first half, hit half of its 10 three-point tries in the second half.

Indian Hills committed only 10 turnovers and held Iowa Western to 32% shooting for the game.

The Warriors have a non-conference game at home against NIACC on Wednesday night before returning to conference play at Marshalltown next Saturday night.

INDIAN HILLS 76, IOWA WESTERN 53

INDIAN HILLS Stephen Coles 4 4-4 12, Jerome Jones 8 6-11 23, Derrick Hill 1 0-0 2, Dijon Farr 3 0-2 7, Trey Starks 0 0-0 0, Bruno Ferreira 1 0-0 2, Riley Stuve 0 0-0 0, Chad Dillard 3 2-4 9, Gary Ricks, Jr. 6 0-0 14, Latroy Taylor 3 0-0 7 Team 29 12-21 76

IOWA WESTERN Jeremy Robinson 7 0-0 14, Alonzo Traylor 1 2-2 4, Kelvin Dixon 2 2-2 6, Montez Blair 2 0-0 5, JC Guzman 1 0-0 2, Tyrone Black 0 0-0 0, Tim McDavid 1 0-0 2, Chance Rucker 0 0-0 0, Zaahir Smith 1 2-2 5, Wayne Wiggins 1 0-0 2, Jordan Weaver 3 5-6 13 Team 19 11-12 53

Halftime score: Indian Hills 29, Iowa Western 26; Three-point field goals: IHCC 6 (Ricks 2, Jones 1, Farr 1, Dillard 1, Taylor 1), IWCC 4 (Weaver 2, Blair 1, Smith 1)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Late Spurt Dooms IHCC in League Opener

West Burlington, IA -- Southeastern broke away from a 49-49 tie in the final five minutes to post a 64-58 win over Indian Hills in the conference opener for both teams on Saturday night.

After Stephen Coles allowed the Warriors to erase a 10-point second half deficit, SCC's Mansa Habeeb scored a go-ahead field goal on an offensive rebound basket to put the BlackHawks on top for good.

Paris Gulley hit two free throws for SCC after Habeeb's field goal and Chad Dillard, who led all scorers with a career-high 17 points for IHCC, hit a driving layup to cut the lead to two at 53-51. But that was as close as Indian Hills got down the stretch as the BlackHawks made four straight free throws in the final 25 seconds to nail down the victory.

The game was close through most of the first half with four ties and as many lead changes. After Gary Ricks gave Indian Hills a 21-20 lead with a three-pointer from the wing, SCC responded with nine unanswered points. Riley Stuve's bucket cut the SCC lead to six at haltime.

Southeastern tried to pull away in the second half, opening up a 7-point advantage. Dillard's three-point play preceded six straight points by the home team and the BlackHawks had their biggest lead of the night at 42-32.

Indian Hills finally got a field goal from Bruno Ferreira and Jerome Jones, scoreless up until that point, hit two 3's as part of the IHCC comeback.

But the Warriors' offensive struggles reemerged after Coles' layup tied the score. Six points by Dillard and a late three-pointer by Ricks were all IHCC could muster over the game's final five minutes.

Habeeb led Southeastern with 13 points and Gulley added 10.

The BlackHawks won despite shooting only 39 percent from the field. But they made 18 free throws to just seven for IHCC.

The Warriors will have a week to prepare for their next game, a home contest against conference foe Iowa Western next Saturday.

SOUTHEASTERN 64, INDIAN HILLS 58

INDIAN HILLS Stephen Coles 3 1-2 7, Jerome Jones 2 0-0 6, Derrick Hill 0 0-0 0, Dijon Farr 3 0-0 6, Trey Starks 0 0-0 0, Bruno Ferreira 2 1-3 5, Riley Stuve 1 0-0 2, Chad Dillard 6 5-6 17, Gary Ricks 6 0-0 15 Team 23 7-11 58

SOUTHEASTERN Abby Ruple 1 2-2 4, Jordan Aaron 2 3-4 9, Mason Leggett 3 0-0 8, Mansa Habeeb 3 7-9 13, Paris Gulley 3 2-2 10, Rinaldo Mafra 2 3-5 7, Gilbert Bush 2 0-2 4, Bida Seck 1 1-1 3, Tomas Bruha 1 0-0 2, Myles Fitten 0 0-0 0, Tyrie Orosco 2 0-0 4 Team 20 18-25 64

Halftime score: Southeastern 29, Indian Hills 23; Three-point field goals: IHCC 5 (Ricks 3, Jones 2), SCC 6 (Aaron 2, Leggett 2, Gulley 2)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Offense Sputters in Loss to Moberly

Ottumwa -- Two days after scoring a season-low 48 points in a loss to Northeast (Neb.), Indian Hills managed only two more points than that in a 65-50 home loss to Moberly (Mo.). The loss drops the Warriors' season record to 16-5 heading into the conference opener at Southeastern next Saturday night.

The visiting Greyhounds jumped on the Warriors early, building a 10-2 lead less than five minutes into the game. They eventually increased the lead to 16 points at 27-11.

IHCC appeared to get untracked, cutting the deficit to 10 on a basket by Trey Starks and two free throws each by Gary Ricks and Latroy Taylor. But an offensive rebound goal by Moberly's Derrick Dilworth enabled the Greyhounds to take a 32-20 halftime lead.

After the Warriors scored the first points of the second half to cut the margin to 10 points, they never got that close again. Moberly used a quick 6-0 run to go on top 38-22 and they eventually led by 18 points in winning for the second year in a row at the Hellyer Center.

When the Greyhounds beat Indian Hills on a last-second tipin in overtime last year it snapped a 10-game winning streak in the series for the Warriors.

Ronnie Boggs led all scorers with 24 points for Moberly. Ricks was the lone IHCC player in double-figures with 16.

Indian Hills was held to 33% field goal shooting (18-of-54) while Moberly shot 53% from the floor (26-of-49). The Warriors really struggled from behind the 3-point line, making only 3 of 21 attempts.

MOBERLY 65, INDIAN HILLS 50

INDIAN HILLS Stephen Coles 0 0-0 0, Jerome Jones 2 0-0 4, Derrick Hill 2 0-0 5, Dijon Farr 3 0-0 6, Trey Starks 2 3-5 7, Bruno Ferreira 0 0-0 0, Riley Stuve 2 2-2 6, Chad Dillard 0 2-2 2, Gary Ricks 6 2-2 16, Latroy Taylor 1 2-2 4 Team 18 11-13 50

MOBERLY Jon Gilliam 2 0-0 5, Ronnie Boggs 8 7-8 24, Daylen Robinson 4 1-2 9, Denmark McDonald 2 0-0 4, Derrick Dilworth 5 0-1 11, Cortez Connors 2 0-0 4, Nathan Bitner 1 0-0 3, Anthony Rule 1 1-1 3, Kenroy Wood 1 0-0 2, Rodney Givens 0 0-0 0 Team 26 9-12 65

Halftime score: Moberly 32, Indian Hills 20; Three-point field goals: IHCC 3 (Ricks 2, Hill 1), MACC 4 (Gilliam 1, Boggs 1, Dilworth 1, Bitner 1)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Northeast Surprises IHCC at SCC Tourney

West Burlington, IA -- Northeast CC took the lead for good late in the first half and held off a late Indian Hills comeback attempt to record a 51-48 victory on Saturday in the Golden Eagle Classic.

Gary Ricks, Jr.'s made three-point attempt in the final minute, which would have given the Warriors the lead, came after the shot-clock had run out and didn't count. Then, after Cameron Adderley gave Northeast a three-point lead with a free throw with 18.6 seconds remaining, Ricks missed a potential tying three-point try.

Indian Hills still had one final chance to send the game to overtime after Northeast missed the front end of a one-and-one with 5.5 seconds to play. Jerome Jones grabbed the rebound and dribbled across the midcourt line, but his desperation three was off the mark.

The first half featured four ties and a dozen lead changes. NCC tallied the final four points of the half to go on top 27-24 at intermission. The Hawks then built a nine-point lead with under eight minutes to play.

But the Warriors could only manage to get as close as two after Latroy Taylor made one of two free throws with 1:21 left and didn't score after that.

Adderley and Jones led their respective teams with 14 points each.

Indian Hills was held to a season-low point total and managed only 15 field goals, also a season low.

The Warriors will try to get back on the winning track when they host Moberly (MO) Area CC on Monday night in the final tuneup before the conference schedule begins Jan. 15 against Southeastern.

NORTHEAST 51, INDIAN HILLS 48

INDIAN HILLS Stephen Coles 1 3-4 5, Jerome Jones 5 2-2 14, Derrick Hill 0 2-4 2, Dijon Farr 1 3-4 5, Trey Starks 1 1-2 3, Bruno Ferreira 1 1-2 3, Riley Stuve 0 0-0 0, Chad Dillard 0 2-3 2, Gary Ricks 6 0-0 13, Latroy Taylor 0 1-2 1, D.J. Bennett 0 0-0 0 Team 15 15-24 48

NORTHEAST Zach Towle 2 0-0 5, Lakheem Trotter 0 0-2 0, Cody Pinder 4 0-0 8, Dol Kutey 1 0-1 2, Jayvin Reynolds 1 1-2 3, Nick Mabbutt 3 2-2 8, Cameron Adderley 6 2-4 14, Brad Pieper 2 0-0 5, Tony Lauters 1 0-0 3, Sean McGary 1 1-3 3 Team 21 6-14 51

Halftime score: Northeast 27, Indian Hills 24; Three-point field goals: IHCC 3 (Jones 2, Ricks 1), NCC 3 (Towle 1, Pieper 1, Lauters 1)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Back to Work: Warriors Take Care of Kennedy-King

West Burlington, IA -- Showing few effects of a 26-day layoff between games, the Indian Hills Warriors returned to action Friday with a 78-62 win over Kennedy-King at the Golden Eagle Classic, hosted by Southeastern CC.

Kennedy-King led only once in the game at 14-13. Chad Dillard tipped in his own missed shot to put the Warriors on top at 15-14 and that started a 27-7 run to end the first half for IHCC. Indian Hills widened the lead to 19 points by halftime.

The lead grew to 22 points in the second half before Kennedy-King started to heat up from three-point range. The Statesmen eventually got the deficit to 12 after a late three by Demarko Nash, but they didn't score again.

Nash was the only Kennedy-King player in double figures with 10 points. Dijon Farr had 17 to top the Warriors and Stephen Coles had 14, a season high.

The win capped a season sweep over KKC for Indian Hills and was their 16th of the year against three losses.

The Warriors will take on Northeast (NE) CC in the tournament on Saturday at 5:00.

INDIAN HILLS 78, KENNEDY-KING 62

INDIAN HILLS Stephen Coles 6 2-3 14, Jerome Jones 3 0-0 7, Derrick Hill 4 0-0 10, Dijon Farr 7 2-2 17, Trey Starks 2 1-2 6, Bruno Ferreira 2 1-3 5, Chad Dillard 4 2-3 10, Gary Ricks 3 1-2 8, Latroy Taylor 0 1-3 1 Team 31 10-18 78

KENNEDY-KING Brandon Caruthers 1 0-0 3, Demarko Nash 2 4-5 10, Camron Bailey 2 1-2 7, Jerrell Mayo 2 1-2 6, Demerius Smith 2 4-4 9, Terron Ferrell 0 0-0 0, Trent Little John 2 2-2 6, Michael Zeigler 2 2-2 7, Kevin Batson 2 2-3 6, Delonzo Wilkins 4 0-0 8 Team 19 16-21 62

Halftime score: Indian Hills 40, Kennedy-King 21; Three-point field goals: IHCC 6 (Hill 2, Jones 1, Farr 1, Starks 1, Ricks 1), KKC 8 (Nash 2, Bailey 2, Caruthers 1, Mayo 1, Smith 1, Zeigler 1)