BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL |
No. 9 Hutchinson (16-3, 7-3) at Dodge City (7-12, 2-8)When: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The final one-third of the 2018-19 men's basketball season upon us, the games are getting more and more critical if the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team wants to remain part of the Jayhawk West title chase.
Entering play on Wednesday, the No. 9-ranked Blue Dragons trail Seward County by two games with 11 to play. Added to that, Barton and Colby are right on the Dragons' heels in third and fourth place.
Starting Saturday, the Blue Dragons will play those three teams in their next three games. That makes Wednesday's matchup at Dodge City a key game if the Blue Dragons are to remain a part of the 2019 Jayhawk West title chase.
Hutchinson travels to Dodge City at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Student Activities Center on the Dodge City Community College campus. The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) beginning at 5:25 p.m. with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Daren Dunn (analysis) calling the action. The Blue Dragon Sports Network will provide a live video stream beginning at 7:20 p.m.
The Blue Dragons enter Wednesday's game with a 16-3 overall record and a 7-3 mark in the Jayhawk West. Seward County is in first place at 9-1, while Barton is third at 6-3 and Colby fourth at 6-4.
Hutchinson has played four-straight games of games decided by 10 points or less and the last two by three points or less. One week ago, the Blue Dragons dropped a 70-69 decision to Garden City and trailed Pratt for most of the game last Saturday before D.J. Mitchell hit a 3-pointer with 18.5 seconds left and then hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds for a 60-57 come-from-behind win over Pratt.
The Blue Dragons face another potent offensive team in Dodge City, which is fifth in the Jayhawk Conference in scoring at 85.6 points per game. The Conquistadors have the KJCCC's leading scorer in sophomore forward Jyrus Freels.
In two games last season against Hutchinson, Freels was held to 10 and 12 points in Dodge City's two games against the Blue Dragons.
Hutch and Dodge split games last season, winning on the other's home floor.
Steve Eck, Hutchinson's 10th-year head coach and 2019 NJCAA Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductee, is now just two victories away from 600 as a junior college head coach. Eck is 598-106 as a junior college head coach.