NO. 5 WARRIORS LIGHT UP DAKOTA COUNTY AT HELLYER
December 02, 2024
Ottumwa, IA – The No. 5 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men’s Basketball squad erupted for a season-high 130 points as the Warriors took down visiting Dakota County Technical College (MN) 130-73 at the Hellyer Center. The Warriors move to 9-3 overall on the year.
Indian Hills put up its highest offensive performance since January 2, 2015, reaching the 130-point plateau for the 18th time in program history in Monday’s matchup. The 57-point margin of victory is the Warriors’ largest since January 6, 2016, a 119-60 win over Malcolm X College (IL).
Six players reached double-figures as all 11 players that saw the floor tallied at least six points for the Warriors. The freshmen duo of Mason Costello (Waukee, IA/Waukee) and Tayshawn Bridges (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Academy of Science) each scored a career-best 22 points for the Warriors while Trenton Walters (Frisco, TX/Radford) added 13 points. Kayden Nation (Peoria, IL/Western Nebraska) and Joao Das Chagas (Niquelândia, Brazil/Arizona Western) tallied 12 points in the win while William Beugre-Kassi (Pontoise, France/Albert Thomas) chipped in 10.
As a team, the Warriors connected on 14 three-point shots on the night, tying a season-high while shooting a season-best 48.3 percent from beyond the arc. Indian Hills finished the night shooting 58.3 percent overall, tops through the team’s first 12 games of the year and best mark since November 12, 2023.
Indian Hills manned the paint throughout the night, outrebounding the Blue Knights 38-25 while outscoring Dakota County 68-20 in the paint. Das Chagas led the way for the Warriors with a season-best 11 boards.
Offensively, the Warriors tied a season-low with seven assists while pacing the offense with 30 assists, the most for an Indian Hills squad since the 2014-15 season. Four different players tallied at least five assists in the win, led by six apiece from Nation and Quinton Perkins II (Dallas, TX/Tarleton State).
Costello sparked the Warriors from the jump as the freshman connected on his first four three-point attempts on the night, scoring 15 points in the opening seven minutes of play. A three from Nation at the 14:16 mark pushed the lead to double-digits and the Warriors never looked back. Indian Hills shot a stifling 10-20 from three-point range in the first half to run away.
Costello finished the night five three-point shots while adding three steals on the defensive front. Bridges filled the stat sheet with five rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals.
Chagas finished the night with his first double-double of the season after going a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. The redshirt-sophomore also went 3-4 from the floor.
The Warriors head back out on the road for a high-profile trip to Levelland, TX for the Texan Classic. Indian Hills is set to take on host and No. 25 nationally ranked South Plains College (TX) at 7:30 PM Friday night and Frank Phillips College (TX) at 12:00 PM on Saturday.
