Indian Hills Holds Off Paris for 16th Win

Ottumwa -- The third-ranked Indian Hills basketball team picked up this week right where they left off before the Christmas break, winning two games to stay undefeated for the season. After knocking off No. 9 Vincennes earlier in the week, the Warriors had to hold off a very tough Paris Junior college squad on Saturday night, winning 84-78.

The victories leave IHCC with a 16-0 record and a chance to move up in the national rankings after previously-No. 1 rated Monroe College lost twice over the holiday break.

Against Paris, the Warriors opened up double-digit leads in both halves but the visiting Dragons fought back to make things interesting.

A 33-22 first-half lead for IHCC all but disappeared by halftime. Paris edged to within three points with an 8-0 run and then cut the Warrior lead to a single point at the half on a three-pointer by T.J. Taylor.

The Dragons tied the score twice early in the second half before Indian Hills broke away.

Kieran Woods was inserted in the lineup at point guard for the Warriors and Woods responded with a three-point basket as Indian Hills went ahead 62-52. Woods' two free throws built the lead to ten.

A Gary Ricks three kept the IHCC lead at ten, but back-to-back treys by Taylor capped another 8-0 run for Paris and allowed the Dragons to creep back to within a point at 71-70.

Dustin Hogue, who led the Warriors with 19 points, hit a pair of free throws to increase the lead to three. Hogue then missed two foul shots, but consecutive steals led to a layup by Jameel McKay and a tipin by Hogue and the Warriors never led by fewer than four points after that.

Woods added a free throw in the final minute, part of a 9-point effort by the freshman guard.

The ball-handling left a lot to be desired on both sides, the two teams combining for 53 turnovers, 29 of them by Paris. There were 79 free throws shot with Paris doing a much better job of converting their chances, making 24-of-30 to 29-of-49 for IHCC.

After six straight home-court wins, the Warriors will face a big challenge on the road next week, a trip to Cedar Rapids to face Kirkwood. The Warriors downed the Eagles, 79-77, in a matchup last month in Ottumwa, IHCC coming from seven points down in the final three minutes to pull out the victory.

INDIAN HILLS 84, PARIS 78

INDIAN HILLS Brandon Spearman 2 0-3 4, Gary Ricks, Jr. 4 0-0 12, DeAndray Buckley 2 5-6 9, Michael Haynes 0 0-2 0, D.J. Bennett 3 0-0 6, Kieran Woods 1 6-10 9, Jameel McKay 6 3-4 15, Roderick Bobbitt 1 3-6 5, Dustin Hogue 4 11-16 19, Ronnie Stevens 2 1-2 5, Trinson White 0 0-0 0, Rwane Ndiaye 0 0-0 0 Team 25 29-49 84

PARIS Anthony Adams 5 7-7 17, Mike Randle 0 0-2 0, T.J. Taylor 6 0-0 15, Ladon Carnegie 2 2-2 6, Seth Kisler 4 4-5 13, Phil Hawkins 1 5-6 7, Marcus Holt 1 0-0 2, Cornelius Cammock 0 0-1 0, Raymond Austin 6 6-7 18 Team 25 24-30 78

Halftime score: Indian Hills 38, Paris 37; Three-point field goals: IHCC 5 (Ricks 4, Woods 1), PJC 4 (Taylor 3, Kisler 1)