Ottumwa, IA – No. 9 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Basketball remained undefeated at the Hellyer Center with 87-79 win over John Wood Community College (IL) Wednesday night. The Warriors improve to 9-1 overall on the year.
Indian Hills secured its 17th consecutive home victory, including sixth this season by hitting at least 80 points in a game for the sixth time in 2025. The Warriors held off a valiant effort from the Blazers as sophomore Ater Manyuon (Austin, MN/We Are United Prep) led the offense with a team-high 18 points. Manyuon was one of four Warriors to go for double-figures Wednesday.
Indian Hills turned 20 John Wood turnovers into 28 points while dominating the paint with a 56-35 scoring advantage down low. Thanks in large part to Manyuon's effort, the Warriors saw 38 points from its bench in the win.
Sophomore Taj Au-Duke (Toronto, Canada/Pepperdine) reached double-figures for the eighth time this year, going 4-4 from the floor and 7-7 from the free throw line to finish with 15 points. Freshman Xavier Wilson (Kansas City, MO/Staley) sparked the Warriors late in the game to finish the night with 13 points and six rebounds while Sawyer Mayhugh (Weston, MA/Queens) chipped in 10 points for the Warriors.
The Warriors attacked the Blazers early, scoring the game's first 13 points to set the tone from the jump. Indian Hills continued to maintain a comfortable advantage throughout the opening half as the Warriors shot a blistering 72.0 percent from the floor while going 14-15 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes of play. Indian Hills went into the intermission with a sizable 51-39 lead.
The Blazers switched the tempo to open the second half, clawing their way back into a single-digit affair. Midway through the second half, John Wood managed to take its first lead of the night at 66-64 after a solid shooting performance. The Warriors continued to trail over the next five minutes of play until Wilson emerged in the paint. The freshman tallied six consecutive points in a span of 1:37 to regain the lead for the Warriors. Indian Hills held onto the advantage the rest of the way to close out the victory.
Wilson scored nine of his 13 points in the second half alone while going 6-8 over the final 20 minutes of play. The freshman added three steals and a pair of assists on the night to fill the stat sheet.
The Warriors improve to 12-1 all-time vs. the Blazers with the win.
Indian Hills is back in action this weekend with the Norris Asphalt Classic at the Hellyer Center. The Warriors are set to take on Lake Region State College (ND) at 7:00 PM Friday night and North Dakota State College of Science at 3:30 PM Saturday.
Purchase tickets in advance: Norris Asphalt Classic
NEW YEAR - WHAT TO KNOW
Fans can keep up the Indian Hills Basketball squad all year long through a number of ways:
- X (formerly Twitter): @IHCCAthletics | @IHCCBasketball
- Facebook: Indian Hills Athletics | Indian Hills Basketball
- Instagram: @IHCCAthletics | @IHCCBasketball
- Youtube: Indian Hills Athletics
- Website: www.indianhillsathletics.com
- Catch up with the history of Indian Hills Men's Basketball: Indian Hills Men's Basketball Record Book
- All home games are played at Hellyer Student Life Center on the Indian Hills - Ottumwa campus
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of all Indian Hills Men's Basketball home, away, and postseason games. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
- GoHillsTV App: Download the Iowa Media Network app on your android or ios device and navigate to the GoHillsTV section
- Website: https://www.iowamedianetwork.com/gohillstv to catch all live and archived information
- Roku Streaming Device (new): Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!
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