Ottumwa, IA – No. 13 Indian Hills Men's Basketball handled Pratt Community College on the opening night of the Meridian Credit Union Classic Friday at the Hellyer Center. The Warriors took down the Beavers 78-63 in the 2025-26 season opener.
Four different players scored in double-figures to lead the Warriors in the season opener. Sophomore Chiang Ring (Minneapolis, MN/Murray State) powered both ends of the court with team-highs of 18 points and seven rebounds to lead Indian Hills to the victory. The Warriors are now 5-0 all-time vs. the Beavers, including wins in back-to-back seasons at the Hellyer Center.
New year, same AT ��@ManyuonAter | #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/RzbpcncaHj
— Indian Hills Basketball (@ihccbasketball) November 1, 2025
Sophomore Taj Au-Duke (Toronto, Canada/Pepperdine), making his Indian Hills debut, poured in 14 points on 6-12 shooting to go along with a team-high five assists and three steals. Sophomore KJ LaMonte (Davenport, IA/New Mexico Highlands) came off the bench to drop in 12 points and four assists while sophomore Vladyslav Semerych (Horishni Plavni, Ukraine/Cherkassy) chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.
As a team, the Warrior defense clamped down on the Beavers and forced 25 turnovers as six different players tallied a steal in the win. Indian Hills held Pratt to just 25.0 percent (5-20) from three-point range on the night.
The Warriors used an early surge to push past Pratt in the opening half. Au-Duke contributed six points in the opening eight minutes of play to give the Warriors a 16-8 edge before pushing the lead to double-digits late in the frame. A three from Au-Duke at the 3:08 mark of the opening half gave Indian Hills a 36-15 advantage and carried a 45-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Pratt chipped away at the deficit in the early goings of the second half, but the Warriors maintained a comfortable margin over the course of the final 20 minutes of play to open the new year with a victory.
The Warriors wrap up play at the Meridian Credit Union Classic Saturday afternoon with a 3:30 PM tip-off vs. Cloud County Community College (KS). The Thunderbirds defeated William Penn JV 116-64 in the opening game of the classic on Friday afternoon.
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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