Hadley’s Heroics Vaults #15 Indian Hills Over #23 Triton
(Content from IHCC sports information)
River Grove, IL – No. 15 Indian Hills Men’s Basketball went on the road and defeated No. 23 Triton College (IL) 77-74 Wednesday night. J’Vonne Hadley’s jumper in the closing seconds lifted the Warriors over the Trojans. IHCC is now 4 and 0 all-time vs. the Trojans.
Taking on its fifth ranked opponent of the season, and second straight, the Warriors made its first-ever trip to the Collins Center to take on the 13-2 Trojans. In a game that saw its largest lead reach only seven, the two nationally ranked contenders were deadlocked at 74 with under a minute to play. Hadley corralled a loose ball in the corner and buried a jumper inside the three-point line with 31 seconds to go giving the Warriors the lead. Hadley added a free throw and a steal in the closing seconds to secure the win.
Hadley finished the night with a season-best 19 points including 13 in the second half to lead the Warriors. Braxton Bayless added 14 points on 6-9 shooting and Taj Anderson tossed in 12 points, nailing four three-pointers. Davin Zeigler finished the night with 10 points.
The Warriors forced 18 Triton turnovers on the night as Hadley and freshman Enoch Kalambay each collected three steals to help The Hills improve to 15-5 on the season.
In a match-up between the Warriors’ top-10 defense and the Trojans’ top-10 offense, both sides battled back-and-forth basically for the entire game. The first half saw a total of 10 lead changes and four ties as the Warriors’ held the largest lead of the first 20 minutes with a 24-17 edge. Zeigler paced the Warriors with eight first half points as Indian Hills led 41-38 at the break.
Indian Hills extended its lead to six on multiple occasions in the second half, but the Trojans stayed within striking distance. With a minute to go in the second half, Brandon Muntu connected on a jumper for Triton to tie the game at 74, the game’s first tie since the first half.
With the game all square, Hadley collected an offensive rebound in the corner and fired a jumper with a hand in his face to regain the lead for the Warriors. After a defensive stop, Hadley knocked down a free throw to extend the lead and gathered the loose ball on the ensuing inbound to send the Warriors to its third win over a nationally ranked foe this year.
Hadley’s game-winning basket was the second of the year for him over a ranked opponent in the state of Illinois for Hadley. The sophomore scored the game-winner against No. 2 John A. Logan College (IL) at the Mattoon Classic on Nov. 23.
Indian Hills returns to Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) action Saturday night at Marshalltown Community College for a 7:00 PM tip with the Tigers.
