BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL |
No. 17 Hutchinson (17-3, 8-3) vs. Colby (12-8, 7-4)When: Saturday, January 26, 2019 |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Soon-to-be NJCAA Hall of Famer Steve Eck goes after career junior college coaching win No. 600 on Saturday night when the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team takes on the hot Colby Trojans at the Sports Arena.
Eck will makes its first attempt at junior college victory No. 600 as the No. 4 Blue Dragons and the Trojans square off at 7:30 p.m. At halftime will be the Hutchinson Quarterback Club Hall of Fame induction ceremony where Eugene Kinlaw, Becky Endicott, Donna Broadus and the 1988 Blue Dragon men's basketball national championship team will be honored.
Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) will broadcast the game live beginning at 7:20 p.m. with Rusty Hilst (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (analysis) calling the action. The Blue Dragon Sports Network will provide a live video stream beginning at 7:20 p.m.
Now in his 21st season as a junior college head coach, Eck has a record of 599-106 at four junior college institutions (Butler County, Redlands, Cowley and Hutchinson). Eck is already Hutchinson's all-time coaching wins leader with 277 wins with the Blue Dragons.
With Hutchinson's come-from-behind 98-90 overtime victory over Dodge City and Colby's 77-72 win over first-place Seward County, things have tightened up in the Jayhawk West. At 9-2, Seward County leads Hutchinson by one game at 8-3, 1.5 games over Barton and two games over Colby.
The Blue Dragons had to rally from a second-straight late second-half deficit in Wednesday's eight-point win at Dodge City. Hutch trailed by five points with 3:07 left in regulation before rallying to force overtime. The Dragosn scored final eight points of overtime to earn win No. 17.
The Blue Dragons have played in five-straight games of decisions of 10 points or less.
Freshman center Fred Odhiambo produced a career game against the Conquistadors with18 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots. D.J. Mitchell had 20 points for Hutchinson.
Colby has won three games in a row after wins over Northwest Tech, Barton and Seward County heading into Saturday. The Trojans are 12-8 overall and 7-4 for conference play for head coach Rusty Grafel, who is a former Blue Dragon player.
Hutchinson and Colby meet for the 53rd time in series history. The Blue Dragons own a 48-4 all-time record, including 25-1 at the Sports Arena.