BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL |
Hutchinson (22-6, 13-6) vs. No. 18 Barton (23-5, 14-5)When: Wednesday, February 20, 2019 |
RUSTY HILST TO BE HONORED AT HALFTIMEAt halftime, the Blue Dragons will honor Blue Dragon brodcaster Rusty Hilst, who will be calling his final regular-season game at the Sports Arena after 50 seasons behind the mic calling Hutchinson CC and Hutchinson High athletics. |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Things weren't looking good for the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team 10 days ago.
The Blue Dragons were mired in a stretch of three losses in four games and had just suffered the third-worst loss in program history to Dodge City.
Two days later, the Blue Dragons put together a come-from-behind victory at Pratt and now Hutchinson is riding a three-game winning streak.
That streak will be put to the test as the No. 18 Barton Cougars come to the Sports Arena at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Wednesday's 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 7:20 p.m. Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Rusty Hilst (analysis) will have the call. The game will also be videostreamed live on the Blue Dragon Sports Network (through BlueDragonSports.com) at 7:20 p.m.
At halftime, the Blue Dragons will honor Blue Dragon brodcaster Rusty Hilst, who will be calling his final regular-season game at the Sports Arena after 50 seasons behind the mic calling Hutchinson CC and Hutchinson High athletics.
Neither Hutchinson nor Barton can finish lower than third in the Jayhawk West as the season winds do its final two games. Hutchinson can tie Barton for second with a win on Wednesday before finishing the regular season at Seward County on Saturday.
Barton still has aspirations of sharing a Jayhawk West title, but would have to sweep Hutch and Garden City on Saturday and have the Saints lose to Northwest Tech on Wednesday and Hutchinson on Saturday.
Hutch's late-season surge was on full display on Saturday at Colby. The Blue Dragons rallied for a 93-86 road win despite being a player short and four others with four fouls for the stretch run against the Trojans. Hutch trailed 71-69 with 7:01 to play in the second half. The Blue Dragons scored on seven-straight possessions as Hutchinson outscored Colby 26-17 over that span to erase that deficit. Over the final 7 minutes, the Blue Dragons were 9 of 10 shooting overall. Hutch dished out seven assists on those nine makes. Trailing 37-36 at halftime, Hutchinson outscored Colby 57-49 in the second half.
Malique Jacobs' career-high 26 points came on 10 of 18 shooting with a career-best seven assists and four steals. James Rojas finished with 23 points and eight rebounds.
Barton will be playing in its fourth game since last Wednesday. The Cougars had their six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday when Seward County defeated Barton 84-80 in Great Bend. The Cougars traveled to and defeated Colby 82-73 on Monday night.
In Hutchinson's first meeting with Barton on Jan. 30, the Blue Dragons built a 17-point first-half lead, only to see the Cougars rally to take a small halftime lead and then dominate the second half for a 102-87 win.
Hutchinson shot 62.1 percent in the first half and finished the game at 57.9 percent (33 of 57), but couldn't overcome 18 turnovers – Barton scored 24 points off turnovers – and 15 Cougar offensive rebounds that produced 15 second-chance points. D.J. Mitchell finished with a team-high 23 points on 5 of 8 shooting from 3-point range to lead the Dragons. Akeem White had 31 points on 14 of 20 shooting with six rebounds to lead the Cougars.