Victory Allows Warriors to Wind Up 7th

Hutchinson, Kan. -- The Indian Hills Warriors overcame the disappointment of an opening-round defeat at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament to win three straight games and finish 7th in the tourney.

Indian Hills won the battle of Warriors on Saturday, defeating the Wabash Valley (Ill) Warriors, 83-74, to claim the 7th-place finish.

IHCC came from behind with a 15-0 burst in the second half and went on to their 33rd win of the season. It's the 7th time in school history an IHCC team has won that many games and marks the 7th time in nine trips to the national tourney that Indian Hills has finished at least 7th.

Dustin Hogue keyed Indian Hills' string of 15 consecutive points, scoring seven points in the run. He made what was only his 6th three-pointer of the season and added four free throws. Hogue had a season-high 25 points to lead the IHCC scoring.

Jameel McKay had his 4th straight double-double of the tourney with 12 points and 12 rebounds. And Brandon Spearman, one of five IHCC players appearing in his final game for Indian Hills, had 18 points. He made seven straight free throws in the second half to go along with three 3-pointers.

Indian Hills jumped out to a 20-13 first-half lead on a three-point play by Hogue. WVC then scored 10 points in a row to go on top 23-20. There were four ties and an equal number of lead changes the rest of the half and the teams went to the locker room tied at 36.

With 14-and-a-half minutes to play, Wabash Valley enjoyed a 51-40 lead after a three-point play by Chasen Campbell. A Hogue free throw and a basket by McKay sparked the IHCC 15-0 run.

After a bucket by Wabash Valley, Spearman hit two foul shots and D.J. Bennett had a dunk and Indian Hills never led by fewer than six points the rest of the way.

A team that struggled at the free throw line all season long, Indian Hills saved one of their best free throw shooting games for the final contest of the season. They made 31-of-41 at the line and that, along with a 52-38 rebounding margin, allowed IHCC to claim the win.

INDIAN HILLS 83, WABASH VALLEY 74

INDIAN HILLS Brandon Spearman 4 7-8 18, Gary Ricks, Jr. 1 2-2 5, DeAndray Buckley 1 0-2 3, Michael Haynes 2 2-4 6, D.J. Bennett 3 2-4 8, Kieran Woods 0 0-0 0, Jameel McKay 4 4-4 12, Roderick Bobbitt 0 5-6 5, Dustin Hogue 8 8-9 25, Ronnie Stevens 0 1-2 1, Rawane Ndiaye 0 0-0 0 Team 23 31-41 83

WABASH VALLEY Javon Campbell 1 1-4 3, Jonathan Octeus 3 10-13 16, Nick Wiggins 11 4-10 28, Jon Cathey-Macklin 1 1-2 3, Donovan Johnson 1 4-4 6, Jerry Coriolan 3 1-2 7, John Goodlow 0 0-1 0, Chasen Campbell 3 2-3 8, Shaq Wilson 1 0-0 3 Team 24 23-39 74

Halftime score: Indian Hills 36, Wabash Valley 36; Three-point field goals: IHCC 6 (Spearman 3; Ricks, Buckley, Hogue 1), WVC 3 (Wiggins 2, Wilson 1)