Sunday, November 6, 2011

Warriors Down Highland, Go to 2-0

Ottumwa -- The 9th-ranked Indian Hills Warriors completed a season-opening sweep of their two games in the Jack Blackwell Tire Company Classic on Saturday night, holding off a late rally to upend Highland (Ill.) CC, 89-75, at the Hellyer Center.

Indian Hills was finally able to put some distance between themselves and the visiting Cougars by grabbing a 79-59 lead in the second half. Highland then provided some anxious moments as they quickly cut the deficit to 80-69. But HCC couldn't score on a possession that would have cut the IHCC lead to single digits and the Warriors went on to notch their second straight win to open the 2011-12 campaign.

The Cougars took an 18-11 first half lead, hitting two of their four 3-pointers for the game to jump ahead. The Warriors went ahead on a Michael Haynes basket at 21-20 and Roderick Bobbitt gave IHCC the lead for good with a three that broke a 23-all tie.

The Warriors outscored HCC, 11-3 to start the second half and never led by fewer than 10 points the rest of the night.

Jameel McKay helped to jump-start the IHCC offense with 13 first-half points and he led the Warriors' scoring with 20. Haynes added 13 and Buckley chipped in 12. Parker paced Highland with 16.

Indian Hills goes on the road for the first time on Tuesday night when the Warriors battle State Fair CC in Sedalia, Missouri. They will play four games in five nights next week with the final three games in consecutive nights at home.


INDIAN HILLS 89, HIGHLAND 75

INDIAN HILLS Brandon Spearman 1 3-6 5, Gary Ricks 2 0-0 6, DeAndray Buckley 3 5-5 12, Michael Haynes 6 1-1 13, D.J. Bennett 3 0-0 6, Kieran Woods 3 1-2 9, Jameel McKay 7 6-10, Dustin Hogue 2 1-3 5, Ronnie Stevens 1 1-2 3, Trinson White 0 0-0 0, Roderick Bobbitt 2 3-5 8, Rawane Ndiaye 1 0-0 2 Team 31 21-34 89

HIGHLAND Tre' Burnette 4 0-0 9, Deonte Jones 3 2-2 10, Demetrius Tolliver 3 1-1 7, Kris Sereme 1 0-0 2, Michael Ochereobia 2 1-2 5, Joseph Danforth 1 2-6 5, Aaron Nelson 7 1-2 15, Jeremy Parker 4 8-9 16, Samuel Ford 2 1-2 5, Tariq Qaasim 1 0-0 2 Team 27 16-24 75

Halftime score: Indian Hills 38, Highland 33; Three-point field goals: IHCC 6 (Ricks, Woods 2, Buckley, Bobbitt 1), HCC 4 (Jones 2, Burnette, Danforth 1)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Lopsided Win for Warriors to Open Season

Ottumwa -- An early 20-0 run enabled Indian Hills to take control and the No. 9-ranked Warriors went on to rout Indiana Dabney University, 119-57, in IHCC's season opener in the Jack Blackwell Tire Company Classic on Friday night.

The visitors were playing only the second game in the program's history. They had lost an overtime contest to Malcolm X earlier in the week.

They grabbed a 7-3 lead as the Warriors started slowly on the offensive end. But Indian Hills finally got untracked, ran off 20 points in a row and never looked back.

The Warriors put up 101 shots, grabbed 70 rebounds and attempted 36 free throws as 13 of the 15 players who saw action scored.

Dustin Hogue led the way with 20 points for Indian Hills, 13 of them coming in the first half as IHCC opened up a 61-31 lead at intermission.

Hogue was one of six players in double figures. Kieran Woods added 18 points and Michael Haynes 17 for Indian Hills in new head coach Barret Peery's Warrior debut.

Michael Skinner was the lone IDU player in double digits with 10 points.

Indian Hills will take on Highland (Ill.) CC on the second night of the tourney on Saturday night. Highland rallied in the second half to down the William Penn JV, 74-61, in Friday's first game.

INDIAN HILLS 119, INDIANA DABNEY UNIVERSITY 57

INDIAN HILLS Brandon Spearman 4 4-4 12, Gary Ricks, Jr. 0 0-0 0, DeAndray Buckley 1 0-1 4, Michael Haynes 6 4-6 17, D.J. Bennett 5 1-1 11, Kieran Woods 6 5-5 18, Jameel McKay 4 2-4 10, Frank Williams 4 0-0 9, Dustin Hogue 9 2-5 20, Ronnie Stevens 1 0-0 2, Trinson White 1 2-2 5, Devin Delaney 1 2-2 4, Roderick Bobbitt 2 2-2 6, Rawane Ndiaye 0 1-4 1, Gary Ross 0 0-0 0 Team 45 25-36 119

INDIANA DABNEY Brandon Hill 0 0-2 0, Kyle Holmes 4 0-1 8, Sodiq Ayanlaja 1 4-6 6, Steve Hilal 0 0-0 0, Tony Jones 2 0-2 4, Charles Outlaw 1 5-6 7, Michael Skinner 3 3-6 10, Andre Lemott 0 0-0 0, Shawn Starks 2 4-6 8, Jeremy Shedrick 2 2-2 8, Archie Boyd 3 0-6 6 Team 18 18-37 57

Halftime score: Indian Hills 61, Indiana Dabney 31; Three-point field goals: IHCC 4 (Haynes, Woods, Williams,White 1); IDU 3 (Shedrick 2, Skinner 1)

Monday, October 24, 2011

Warriors Ranked in Preseason Top Ten by NJCAA

Ottumwa -- Even though they weren’t placed in the number-one spot like they were in an earlier preseason poll, the Indian Hills Warriors still garnered a top-ten national ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s preseason Top 20.

The Warriors will enter the 2011-12 season ranked ninth in the NJCAA poll. They were 14th in last year’s preseason poll and finished the season with a 23-10 record. Indian Hills has been in the preseason national ratings nine of the past 11 years.

The Sporting News had Indian Hills No. 1 in its preseason poll released last month.
College of Southern Idaho, the defending national champion, is ranked first in this year’s ratings. Monroe College from New York is second and Midland College from Texas is third.

Two teams the Warriors will play in the regular season are sandwiched around Indian Hills. Howard (TX) College is eighth and Three Rivers (MO) is 10th. They are the only ranked Division I teams on the IHCC schedule. Kirkwood CC, whom the Warriors play twice, is fourth in Division II.

Fans can get an early look at the Indian Hills basketball team at a special “Meet the Warriors” event on Tuesday, October 25, at the Hellyer Student Life Center. The evening’s activities will start at 7:00.

The players will be introduced and then participate in a 3-point shoot-out and dunk contest. The Warriors will also play an intrasquad scrimmage.

The IHCC cheer squad will perform and the basketball team members will be available for autographs at the conclusion of the event.

There will be free admission for the evening. The Warriors open the regular season in the Jack Blackwell Tire Company Classic Nov. 4-5.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Meet the Warriors

Ottumwa -- The 2011-12 Indian Hills Community College basketball team will be unveiled at a special “Meet the Warriors Night” on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

The event will start at 7:00 p.m. at the Hellyer Student Life Center. Fans will be treated to a 3-point shoot-out and dunk contest and the Warriors will play an intrasquad scrimmage.

In addition to the IHCC basketball team, ranked No. 1 in the Sporting News preseason poll, the players and coaches of the other athletic teams at Indian Hills will also be introduced and the Cheer Squad will perform.

The players will be available to sign autographs at the conclusion of the scrimmage. There will also be information on joining the IHCC Booster Club.

There will be free admission for the evening. The Warriors open the regular season in the Jack Blackwell Tire Company Classic Nov. 4-5.

Indian Hills coach Barret Peery will get an early look at his team against some very good competition this weekend when the Warriors take part in the Mullens-Mitchell Jamboree in Plano, Texas. The games are treated as scrimmages per NJCAA scheduling rules.

The Warriors will play three Texas schools – South Plains, Midland and Collin – on Friday, and will take on a couple of traditional powers from Kansas in Coffeyville and Hutchinson on Saturday.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Sporting News Has Warriors No. 1

Ottumwa -- The Indian Hills basketball team will go into the new season with a new coach and a number-one national ranking.

The Warriors are the No. 1 rated junior college team in the country in the Sporting News preseason poll. TSN’s poll includes all schools in the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as those two-year schools in California and Washington that are not part of the NJCAA.

Barret Peery took over the IHCC program after last season and, apparently, as far as the people who put together the preseason rankings are concerned, has put together a talented team.

But Peery acknowledges that the 13 new players on the roster aren’t solely responsible for the lofty ranking. “I know that most of the credit goes to the Indian Hills name and the tradition that’s been built here,” said Peery in talking about the poll.

“Being No. 1 doesn’t mean a lot in September, but I’m excited to know that people recognize the hard work that we have put in to build this team so quickly,” Peery said. “There will be pressure on us from Day 1 with a bulls-eye on our chest.”

But the coach also relishes the fact that the Warriors are in the top spot, saying, “There is always pressure to win and this just heightens the expectations, which is fine with me.”

Peery came to Indian Hills after three years as an assistant coach at the University of Utah. Prior to that, he was the head coach for three years at the College of Southern Idaho, the team that, in a bit of irony, is ranked second in the preseason poll, behind the Warriors.

It is the second time in four years the Warriors will enter the season as the nation’s top-rated team. They were also ranked first at the start of the 2008-09 season and went on to finish 30-3 that year.

Three more players were added to the IHCC roster at the start of the school year. They are Dustin Hogue, a 6-5 wing from Yonkers, New York; Frank Williams, also a 6-5 wing, from Raytown, Missouri; and Rawane Ndiaye, a 6-10 post player from Dakar, Senagal.

Peery describes Hogue as “a tremendous athlete that can play multiple positions at both ends of the floor.”

Williams is “a very good shooter, with great length and a very good basketball IQ,” according to the coach.

And Ndiaye, says Peery, is “a very big-bodied post who gives us depth and size on the inside.”

Indian Hills opens the 2011-12 season against Indiana Dabney University in the Jack Blackwell Tire Co. Classic on Nov. 4.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Hoops Tickets on Sale

OTTUMWA --- Season tickets are now on sale for the 2011-12 basketball season at Indian Hills Community College. And those who purchase the season tickets before the end of September will get a price break.

Tickets for the 18 homes games, including four tournaments, on the Warriors’ schedule are $90 if purchased by Sept. 30. After that, a season ticket will cost $108.

A special Snowbird Package is available this year. It’s good for the first nine home games, all of the home contests in November and December. The cost of this package is $45, but you have to buy a Gold Booster Club Membership in order to get the package.

The tickets are being sold in the IHCC Athletic Office in the Hellyer Student Life Center on the Ottumwa campus from 7:15 to 4:45 Monday through Thursday.

The Warriors open the season at home on Nov. 4 against Indiana Dabney University in the Jack Blackwell Tire Co. Classic. The first conference home game is Feb. 4 when Indian Hills battles Southeastern.

The 2011-12 IHCC basketball schedule can be viewed at www.indianhills.edu/athletics/basketball.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Basketball Schedule Released

OTTUMWA --- Non-conference home games against three tough opponents, all of whom will be making their first-ever trip to the Hellyer Student Life Center, highlight Indian Hills Community College’s 2011-12 basketball schedule.

The challenging schedule includes 18 home dates and four home tournaments.

Two of the three teams traveling to Ottumwa for the first time are from Texas and each has won a national championship in the past six years. Howard College will play in the Warriors’ PCS Classic in December; Paris Junior College will visit for a regular-season game in early January.

Paris won the national crown in 2005 and Howard College took the title in 2010.

Vincennes (Ind.) University is on the IHCC basketball schedule for the first time in almost two decades. The teams have never met in a regular-season tilt. They will play a pair of games next season.

The Warriors will battle all five of the Division I schools from Missouri, which they haven’t done in the same year since the 2005-06 campaign. IHCC will play home-and-home series with Moberly, Missouri State-West Plains and State Fair. They will take on both Three Rivers and Mineral Area in a tourney in Park Hills, Mo.

The season will begin with a pair of games in the Jack Blackwell Tire Classic Nov. 4-5. Another newcomer to the schedule, Indiana Dabney University, and traditional power Highland CC from Illinois will provide the opposition for Indian Hills in that tournament.

In addition to the season-opening classic and the one in which Howard will play, Indian Hills will also host Mid Michigan, John Wood and Carl Sandburg in the Reed Overhead Doors Classic in November. Chicago schools Kennedy-King and Olive-Harvey will be the IHCC opponents in the HyVee Classic in January.

The six-game conference slate begins with road games at Marshalltown CC Jan. 21 and Iowa Western CC Jan. 28. The next three league games will be at home before the regular-season finale at Southeastern on Feb. 25.

The Warriors were 23-10 last year and tied with Southeastern for the conference regular-season crown with a 4-2 mark. Southeastern won both games in the best-of-three series to determine the Region 11 postseason champ.

The upcoming season will mark the debut for new head coach Barret Peery who was hired in April. He has been busy since then assembling the team that Warrior fans hope will make a run at a conference title and a national tournament trip.

The full 2011-12 schedule can be found on the basketball page on the Indian Hills website at www.indianhills.edu. Ticket information for the 18-game home schedule will be released later in August.