OTTUMWA — How would the 11th-ranked Indian Hills basketball team respond to their first loss of the season?
The Warriors responded with a balanced effort on Friday night to pull away from Pratt on the opening night of the RV & Powersports Classic. Abdoulaye Fall, Tayshawn Bridges and Quinton Perkins II each scored 10 points to pace Indina Hills in a 79-64 victory at the Hellyer Student Life Center.
Fall sparked the first run that helped Indian Hills take the lead and hold the lead. After breaking a 13-13 tie by converting a 3-point play, Fall drilled a 3-point jumper before setting up a trio of scores with three steals as Indian Hills opened a 25-17 lead with a 12-4 run.
Tayshawn Bridges then stepped up to help pad IHCC’s lead in the final four minutes of the first half scoring eight points. Bridges scored a team-leading eight points, driving the basket three times including a final lay-up in the closing seconds of the half to put the Warriors up 40-23.
Pratt got as close as 12 in the second half and pulled within 62-47 with 9:08 left on a trio of free throws by Jarrett Dingle. Indian Hills put the game out of reach with a flurry of 3-pointer, including a pair of deep shots and a block on the defensive end by Mason Castillo opening a 24-point lead over the Beavers with eight minutes to go.
Dingle scored a game-high 19 points to lead Pratt (1-2), sinking eight of nine free throw attempts, while Khasen Robinson added 14 points for the Beavers. Pratt will take on Sauk Valley on Saturday at the Hellyer Center at 4:30 p.m.
Indian Hills (2-1) hosts Tyler and former IHCC head coach Mike Marquis on Saturday.
