NO. 5 WARRIORS SINK CAVALIERS, 78-66
December 14, 2024
Ottumwa, IA – No. 5 Indian Hills Men’s Basketball took down Kankakee Community College (IL) 78-66 on the second day of the Financial Partners Classic Saturday night. The Warriors improve to 12-4 overall on the year.
Competing at Evans Junior High gymnasium due to weather-related issues at the Hellyer Center, the Warriors move to 13-0 all-time vs. the Cavaliers after holding off a late surge from the Cavaliers.
Sophomore Abdoulaye Fall (Dakar, Senegal/Cloud County) went for a game-high 21 points on the night along with six rebounds. Fall powered the Warriors in the second half with 15 points alone as the forward shot 9-16 overall from the floor.
Freshman Ater Manyuon (Austin, MN/We Are United Prep) recorded a season-high 14 points while shooting 6-8 from the floor while sophomore Joao Das Chagas (Niquelândia, Brazil/Arizona Western) added 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Warriors. 10 different players reached the scoring column in Saturday night’s affair.
A night after a thrilling defeat at the Hellyer Center to No. 3 ranked Snow College (UT), the Warriors bounced back on Saturday by outmuscling the Cavaliers in the paint. Indian Hills posted a 48-34 rebounding advantage while outscoring Kankakee 46-24 in the paint.
Manyuon sparked the Warriors early in the first half with back-to-back buckets to give Indian Hills a 12-7 edge midway through the opening frame. A lay-in from Mason Costello (Waukee, IA/Waukee) at the 5:52 mark gave the Warriors their largest lead of the half at 35-14 before taking a 16-point lead into the locker room, 41-25.
Indian Hills maintained a sizable advantage in the early goings of the second half before the Cavaliers slowly chipped away at the deficit. Kankakee eventually pulled back within single digits, 70-61 with less than five minutes to play, but an emphatic dunk from Das Chagas in the closing minutes halted any attempt at getting closer as the Warriors walked away with the win.
Indian Hills will close out the final day of the Financial Partners Classic Sunday afternoon against Lake Region State College (ND). Sunday’s contest will be played at Cardinal High School in Eldon, IA with tip-off set for 1:00 PM. Admission to Sunday’s contest is free of charge.
