Hardy shooots Warriors into Region XI finals

BY IAN SMITH, Courier sports writer

February 28, 2008 11:10 am

— 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.
Hardy finished the game with 30 points and seven 3-pointers — both career highs.
Southeastern (16-15, 3-3) coach Terry Carroll finally switched the Blackhawk defense to open the second half. The man-to-man approach initially frustrated Indian Hills. Hardy wasn’t open and the Warriors struggled.
Meanwhile, Southeastern got its offense rolling. Roberto Mafra used an up-and-under move to cut the deficit to 46-33. Next, Mafra made a 3-pointer to bring the Blackhawks within 10.
Andreus Elliott cut the lead to 54-47 when his 3-pointer rattled in. It was as close as Southeastern would get.
Harris juked his defender with a crossover dribble, getting a layup for a 58-47. The Warrior point guard played or the first time since injuring his ankle Feb. 16 against Marshalltown, scoring six points and dishing out seven assists.
“The unsung hero, really, was Rico Harris,” Kidder said. “I thought Rico had a good floor game and really passed the ball well.”
Dendy added a dunk after Southeastern gift wrapped a turnover to the Indian Hills big man right under the hoop. Kidder credited Dendy and the rest of the Warriors for cleaning up on the boards. Indian Hills out rebounded Southeastern 33-22.
Dendy scored eight points in his second game back from serious health issues.
“Coach Kidder and a lot of guys came to the [hospital] room and we prayed about the situation,” Dendy said. “Coach just told me not to worry about it until the results came back. The results came back today and everything was normal — everything’s good. It said I am 100 percent.”
The win improves the Warriors record to 16-2 at home this season. Kidder is 54-3 in his three seasons at the Hellyer Center.
Indian Hills will meet Iowa Western for the third time this season on Monday. The Warriors split the two games with the Reivers, winning 68-62 at home and losing 59-54 on the road. The Reivers are 28-3 this season and ranked No. 11 in the country.
The winner of the best-of-three series meets the North Dakota region winner for the right to go the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
“Everybody wants to get to Hutch,” Dendy said. “Everybody wants to get to Kansas. We have Iowa Western next and we’ll do our thing against them.”

Indian Hills 72, Southeastern 56
Indian Hills (72) — Dwight Hardy 30, Dwight Buycks 15, Leon Powell 11, LaRon Dendy 8, Chris Vines 2, Rico Harris 6. Totals 27-61 10-16 72.
3-point goals — 8 (Hardy 7, Buycks 1). Rebounds — 33 (Vines 7). Assists — 15 (Harris 7). Steals — 7 (Dendy 3). Blocks — 4 (Dendy 2) Total fouls — 20. Turnovers — 9.
Southeastern (56) — Roberto Mafra 21, James Harvey 6, Luis Garcia 7, Andreus Elliot 5, Cecil Stinson 6, CJ Wilkerson 4, Antonio Brimley 2, Doug Edwards 2, Thomas Jones 3. Totals 16-41 21-24 56.
3-point goals — 3 (Mafra 1, Elliott 1, Jones 1). Rebounds — 22 (Mafra 5). Assists — 6 (Stinson 4). Steals — 2 (Mafra 2). Blocks — 5 (Mafra 2). Total fouls — 15. Turnovers — 12.

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