Las Vegas, NV – No. 12 Indian Hills Men's Basketball ran past Gillette College (WY) 87-50 on the opening night of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, NV Thursday. The Warriors improve to 13-2 overall on the year.
Competing in Las Vegas for the first time since 1999, the Warriors outscored the Pronghorns by 27 in the second half alone to pick up the win at Orleans Arena. Indian Hills trailed by five in the opening half, but surged past Gillette to improve to 10-0 all-time in Sin City.
Six players scored in double-figures for the Warriors, led by Sawyer Mayhugh's (Weston, MA/Queens) team-high 18 points. Mayhugh went 8-11 from the floor while adding eight rebounds for the Warriors.
Sophomores Vladyslav Semerych (Horishni Plavni, Ukraine/Cherkassy) and Ater Manyuon (Austin, MN/We Are United Prep) each chipped in 13 points for the Warriors while Taj Au-Duke (Toronto, Canada/Pepperdine) tallied 11. KJ LaMonte (Davenport, IA/New Mexico Highlands) reached double-figures for the 10th time this season with 10 points while Chaz Watson (Kansas City, MO/Cleveland State) added 10 points of his own.
Indian Hills held Gillette to just 29.3 percent shooting from the floor to secure the win. The Warriors boasted a 52-29 rebounding advantage, including a 16-8 edge in offensive rebounds that led to a 23-5 margin in second chance points.
Indian Hills swiped 12 steals in the contest, the team's fifth double-digit steals total in the last six matchups thanks in large part to a career-high five steals from sophomore Javeyn Martin (Anderson, SC/T.L. Hanna).
Manyuon sparked the Warriors in the early goings of the first half, scoring 12 points through the first 20 minutes of play. The sophomore connected on back-to-back three-point shots to give Indian Hills a 23-22 advantage before the squad pulled away for a 38-28 lead at the halftime break.
The Warriors continued to surge in the second half to secure the non-league win. Gillette shot just 26.5 percent from the floor in the second half, going just 3-14 from three-point range along the way. Mayhugh and Semerych powered the Warriors down low in the second half, scoring 14 and 12 points respectively to carry out the win.
The Warriors return to action on the final day of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas on Friday with a 6:30 PM tip vs. North Idaho College.
Following Friday's tilt, the Warriors will head into the holiday break before returning to action January 6 at the Hellyer Center with a non-league matchup vs. Dakota County Technical College (MN). Action gets underway at 7:00 PM.
Purchase tickets in advance: Indian Hills vs. Dakota County
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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