JUCO basketball: Second-ranked Warriors edge No. 1 NW Florida State
Nov. 17—OTTUMWA — For 40 minutes on Wednesday night, the top two teams in the NJCAA Division I national men's basketball ranking proved why they are more than worthy of those spots.
When the 40 minutes were up, it was Indian Hills that proved they might be the best team in junior college basketball this season. The Warriors took down defending national champion Northwest Florida State, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, 108-99 in a breathtaking rematch of a 67-66 win earned by the Raiders over IHCC in last year's national tournament.
"That was a very high-quality basketball game," Indian Hills head coach Hank Plona said. "I do think both teams need to get a little more solid defensively, but you saw a lot of talented players making a lot of talented plays."
Don McHenry led Indian Hills with 25 points, including 16 in the second half. Eddiean Tirado added 21 points, sinking his first five shots from the field including four consecutive made 3-pointers, as the Warriors scored 12 of the first 15 points in the second half after taking a 43-42 halftime lead over the Raiders.
Enoch Kalambay added 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Warriors. Kiran Oliver scored 12 points, all in the first half, as Indian Hills improved to 7-0 on the season in a game that featured 10 ties and nine lead changes before the Warriors stretched out a 21-point lead in the second half.
Kasean Pryor led Northwest Florida State (6-1) with a game-high 30 points before fouling out. Taryn Todd added 23 points and shared team-high honors with four assists while Takai Simpkins scored 19 points off the bench for the Raiders. Marcus Niblack scored 13 points, helping Northwest Florida State cut IHCC's 21-point lead down to 103-97 in the final minute before free throws by Kalambay and Tirado salted the game away.
With the win, Indian Hills is poised to become the new No. 1 team when the next set of national rankings come out on Monday. To earn that ranking, however, the Warriors will have to win both games at home in the Reed Overhead Doors Classic against McCook on Friday and Missouri State-West Plains on Saturday.
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
