TOP-RANKED WARRIORS HANDLE CASPER ON THE ROAD
Casper, WY – Playing for the first time as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation since the 2017-18 season, the Indian Hills Men’s Basketball team pulled away in the second half for a 94-69 victory over Casper College (WY) at the Vista Auto Thanksgiving Classic. The Warriors move to 10-0 on the year.
The Warriors, who took over the top spot of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men’s Basketball Poll after a win over the previous No. 1 team in the nation in Northwest Florida State College last week, outscored the Thunderbirds 65-39 over the final 26:49 of action. The Warriors remain unbeaten on the year and improve to 3-0 on the road. The Warriors have now defeated six opponents by at least 19 points on the year.
Sophomore David Jones (Sacramento, CA/Panola) led the Warriors with a season-high 22 points, including 12 in the second half. Don McHenry (Milwaukee, WI/Hawaii-Hilo), the team’s leading scorer on the year, poured in 18 while Ryan Myers (Brooklyn, NY/Iona) added 13 and freshman Trevion LaBeaux (Waterloo, IA/Ames) added 12.
Taking on the Thunderbirds for the second time in as many years, the two sides battled back-and-forth in the early stages of the first half Friday night in the Swede Erickson Gym. LaBeaux knocked down a long-range jumper to put Indian Hills ahead 12-11, but neither side led by more than two over the next 10 minutes.
The Warriors slowly built momentum and a three-point shot from Eddiean Tirado (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Miami Triple Threat) gave the Warriors a 37-30 edge. A bucket in the closing seconds of the first half from Lado Laku (Dallas, TX/Cal State Fullerton) gave Indian Hills its largest lead of the half, a 47-36 edge.
Indian Hills continued to dispatch the home team in the opening minutes of the second half and extended its lead down the stretch. The Warriors outscored the Thunderbirds by 14 in the final half to secure the win.
Jones’ best performance of the season for the Warriors saw the sophomore corral a game-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Laku teamed up with Jones in the paint to add seven rebounds and three blocked shots as the Warriors outrebounded the Thunderbirds 50-39. The Warriors’ play in the post also included a 58-18 advantage in points in the paint.
Indian Hills shot a season-high 56.7 percent from the floor while holding the opposition to just 30.1 percent. The Warriors are now limiting their opponents to just 34.7 percent shooting on the year, the second-lowest mark among all teams in the nation.
The Warriors return to action Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Vista Auto Thanksgiving Classic against Wester Wyoming Community College. Indian Hills will square off with the Mustangs at 3:00 PM CT.
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