Warriors Come Out on Top in Battle of Ranked Teams

Ottumwa -- In a game that had 46 tunrovers, 58 fouls and 76 free throw attempts, Indian Hills held off Kirkwood to win a matchup of two teams ranked in the top-seven in their respective divisions on Saturday night.  Not until Gary Williams, Jr. hit two free throws with 1.2 seconds to play could Indian Hills, rated 5th in the NJCAA Division I preseason poll, nail down its 94-89 win against Kirkwood, the 7th-ranked team in Division II.

The Warriors started the second half by scoring 11 straight points to take a seven-point halftime advantage and increase it to 18 at 56-38.  But Kirkwood roared back with a 20-2 run and tied the game on a basket by Taylor Olson with just over 12 minutes to play.  After that, there were five more ties and four lead changes.

The last time the lead changed hands was when IHCC's Frank Williams nailed a 3-pointer to put the Warriors on top 72-70.  Although they got to within a single point four times after that, Kirkwood couldn't get the score back to even.

The Eagles were down 90-89 after Olson made a pair of free throws with under two minutes to play.  Ronald Ross then hit the biggest shot of the night for Indian Hills, a jumper from just outside the free throw lane to make it 92-89.

Kirkwood then missed two 3-point tries on separate possessions in the final minute before Williams cemented the Warriors' second straight win with their 31st and 32nd made free throws.  Indian Hills' 32-of-45 performance at the foul line was a big reason for the Warriors' victory.

Ross hit back-to-back 3s early in the game as part of an 8-0 run that gave Indian Hills an early 11-3 lead.  IHCC eventually built the margin to 26-10.  A quick 12-2 burst got the Eagles back into the game, a preview of what would happen in the second half after the Warriors opened up a double-digit lead.

Ross led the IHCC scoring with 17 points.  Dustin Hogue added 14 before fouling out, one of three Warriors who exited with five fouls. 

Najeal Young's 26 points led KCC and Kasey Semler added 24.

Indian Hills swept its two games in the season-opening Blackwell Tire Classic and will host another tournament next weekend -- the Reed Overhead Doors Classic.  The Warriors take on Mid-Michigan CC on Friday night and Paris JC from Texas on Saturday.

INDIAN HILLS 94, KIRKWOOD 89

INDIAN HILLS  Jameel McKay 3 5-11 11, Richard Amardi 2 1-2 5, Trinson White 0 2-2 2, Dustin Hogue 2 10-13 14, Ronald Ross 6 3-5 17, Jelan Kendrick 3 5-6 11, Justin Moss 3 1-1 7, Frank Williams 3 0-0 9, Ronnie Stevens 1 0-0 2, Gary Williams, Jr. 5 5-5 16, Majok Deng 0 0-0 0  Team 28 32-45 94

KIRKWOOD  Kevin Hunter 2 1-2 5, Najeal Young 9 8-12 26, Derek Witt 2 0-0 4, J.C. Fuller 3 0-0 7, Taylor Olson 1 2-2 4,  Devan Douglas 4 0-1 9, Kasey Semler 6 8-8 24, Jalen Currie 1 2-5 4, Mike Lang 1 0-0 2, Gage Heffernan 1 2-2 4  Team 30 23-31 89

Halftime score: Indian Hills 45, Kirkwood 38; Three-point field goals: IHCC 6 (F. Williams 3, Ross 2, G. Williams 1), KCC 6 (Semler 4; Fuller, Douglas 1)