BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL |
Hutchinson (25-7) vs. No. 3 Coffeyville (29-2)
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Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team goes after an unprecedented seventh-consecutive trip to the Region VI Tournament championship game on Monday night.
To do that, the Blue Dragons must knock off the No. 3-ranked Coffeyville Red Ravens.
Hutchinson (25-7) – receiving votes in the final regular-season NJCAA National Rankings – and Coffeyville (29-2) will battle in the first Region VI semifinal at 5 p.m. on Monday at Hartman Arena. The Hutchinson/Coffeyville winner will meet the Barton/Seward County winner for the Region VI title and an automatic bid to the NJCAA Tournament on Wednesday.
Monday'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 4:50 p.m. with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Rusty Hilst (analysis) calling the action. The game will also be streamed live on the Blue Dragon Sports Network at 4:50 p.m.
Hutchinson will meet Coffeyville for the 18th time overall and for the third-straight year in the Region VI Tournament. The last two meetings have been in the Region VI championship game – the 2017 finals were won by Coffeyville 91-88 in overtime and last season, the Ravens defeated the Dragons 82-80.
Monday's meeting will be the seventh time in Blue Dragon head coach Steve Eck's 10-year tenure that Hutchinson will battle Coffeyville in the Region VI Tournament.
The Blue Dragons and Red Ravens played only once this season. It was the opening game of the Jayhawk Conference season on November 24 at Nellis Hall in Coffeyville. The Blue Dragons had a rough second half and fell behind by as many as 18 points before ultimately falling 78-67.
Chris Giles led the Blue Dragons in that game with 12 points. Tevin Brewer had 15 points to lead the Red Ravens.
Hutchinson advanced to its 43rd regional tournament semifinal with a 91-74 quarterfinal victory over Pratt. Hutchinson used a 31-9 run in the second half to break the game open. During that decisive run, the Blue Dragons scored on nine-straight possessions and hit 12 of 13 shot attempts. Hutchinson started the second half hitting 14 of its first 18 field-goal attempts and wound up shooting 60 percent for the half (15 of 25).
James Rojas tied a career high with 28 points, while Malique Jacobs had 22 points, hitting a career-high 14 of 16 free throws.
Coffeyville advanced to the semifinals and won their 17th-straight game with a decisive 82-55 quarterfinal win over Colby on Sunday night. The Red Ravens held Colby to 5 of 21 shooting in a first half where they outscored the Trojans 43-19. Keon Queen scored a game-high 26 points to lead Coffeyville.
Monday's semifinals will feature three of the Jayhawk Conference's four all-time winningest coaches.
Hutchinson head coach Steve Eck is fourth on the list with 425 victories as a Jayhawk Conference coach at Hutchinson, Cowley and Butler County. Coffeyville head coach Jay Herkelman is the career coaching wins leader in both the KJCCC and Region VI with 633 wins. Barton's Craig Fletchall has 426 wins at Barton and Neosho County.