JUCO basketball: No. 13 IHCC falls at No. 15 Triton
Feb. 1—OTTUMWA — It couldn't have gone better on Saturday night at the Hellyer Student Life Center.
Indian Hills dominated nearly every facet of the game against Carl Sandburg, beating the Chargers 100-52 behind a total team effort. All 14 players scored for the Warriors culminating with a lob from Jamal Entezami to Peitok Machar, the only IHCC players without a point, with four seconds left vaulting the Warriors into triple figures for the first time since a season-opening 109-100 win at McCook on Nov. 7.
It was a different story for the 13th-ranked Warriors on Wednesday night away from home. In a battle of national tournament hopefuls, 15th-ranked Triton pulled away in the second half sinking all 32 free throw attempts in the final 20 minutes to clinch an 81-65 win over Indian Hills earning the first win in eight all-time meetings between the programs.
Amar Augillard led Triton (20-1) with a game-high 24 points on Wednesday, sinking all 12 free throw attempts in the contest. The Trojans were 34-35 as a team from the foul line in the game, outscoring Indian Hills 34-14 from the charity stripe.
Braden Sparks led Indian Hills on Wednesday with 13 points and four assists. Kheni Briggs came off the bench to score 12 points in 26 minutes while Amarion Nimmers added 11 points, sinking 3-4 from 3-point range in the loss.
William Beugre-Kassi led Indian Hills on Saturday, scoring 14 points in one of the most balanced efforts of the season for the Warriors. Seven different IHCC players reached double figures in the win, aiding to a 60-percent shooting night for the team with 26 total assists, almost three times as many as the 10 assists the Warriors collected in Wednesday's loss to Triton.
"To have that many guys go into double figures is a testament to our team," Indian Hills head men's basketball coach Josh Sash said. "We're pretty balanced. We don't have anyone that gets 20 points a night. We have a bunch of guys that are capable of around 10-12 or 13 points a game. It's good to get that many people involved."
Indian Hills (16-4) returns home on Saturday to host Marshalltown in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference action at 7 p.m.
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
