OTTUMWA — Dwight Hardy’s dream-like state was very real. The Indian Hills freshman literally couldn’t miss.

Behind Hardy’s unbelievable shooting touch, the Warriors routed rival Southeastern 72-56 Wednesday night in the first round of the Region XI Tournament.

Indian Hills (23-8, 3-3) advances to face Iowa Western in a best-of-three series starting Monday in Council Bluffs. The Reivers moved on with a 61-42 win over Marshalltown.

“We were really ready to play,” Indian Hills coach Jeff Kidder said. “The kids did a nice job of competing tonight.”

The Warriors trailed 19-17 in a tightly contested first half and it appeared the game would go down to the wire. That was until Hardy caught fire.

The Bronx native drilled his first 3-pointer to give Indian Hills a 22-19 edge. On the next possession, Hardy settled into the same exact spot in the right corner against the Southeastern 1-3-1 zone, swishing the 3-pointer for a 25-19 lead.

Hardy’s shooting display was just starting.

“After I hit the first couple, I just got that feeling,” Hardy said. “The crowd got me into it. I just felt like I couldn’t miss anymore.

“I was surprised they stayed in the zone. Rico [Harris], Xavier [Collier], Dwight [Buycks] — they did a good job of getting me the ball. I came through for our team.”

On the next two possessions, Hardy again found the net on 3-pointers from the right side. Hardy added three free throws the next time down the court after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt.

Hardy went on a 15-0 run all by himself to give the Warriors a 34-19 lead.

He still wasn’t done.

The 6-3 guard splashed two more 3-pointers in the exhilarating sequence to give Indian Hills a 43-27 halftime advantage. Hardy made six 3-pointers in a row and scored 25 points first half points — nearly matching Southeastern by himself. He scored 21 of Indian Hills’ last 24 points.

“I can’t remember the last time I had a player hit that many shots,” Kidder said. “What a weapon. It couldn’t happen to a better kid. We just hid him over there in the corner. Leon [Powell] and LaRon [Dendy] did a good job of screening and the kids found him. It was just phenomenal shooting. He’s the player of the game, no doubt about it.”

Hardy exposed the same Southeastern zone defense in Indian Hills’ 66-54 victory over the Blackhawks last Saturday. With the game winding down, Hardy drilled a key 3-pointer to seal the win. Kidder and his staff took notice, discovering Hardy was open on the right side of the hoop nearly every possession against the zone.