BLUE DRAGONS DRAW NO. 7 TRITON, NEO IN BSN SPORTS TIPOFF CLASSIC

The No. 13 Blue Dragon Men's Basketball team takes on No. 7 Triton in the BSN Sports Tipoff Classic at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Sports Arena. (Andrew Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)
The No. 13 Blue Dragon Men's Basketball team takes on No. 7 Triton in the BSN Sports Tipoff Classic at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Sports Arena. (Andrew Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL

BSN Sports Tipoff Classic

When: November 4-5, 2022
At: Hutchinson Sports Arena
Friday's Men's Schedule
3:00 p.m. - Barton (1-0) vs. NEO (1-0)When: November 4-5, 2022
At: Hutchinson Sports Arena
Friday's Men's Schedule
3:00 p.m. - Barton (1-0) vs. NEO (1-0) - Video Link
7:30 p.m. - No. 13 Hutchinson (1-0) vs. No. 7 Triton (1-0) - Video Link
Saturday's Men's Schedule
3:00 p.m. - Barton vs. No. 7 Triton - Video Link
7:30 p.m. - Hutchinson vs. NEO - Video Link
Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9), 7:20 p.m. - Glen Grunwald (Color)
Twitter: @bluedragonsport
Admission: $12 reserved; $10 general admission; Blue Dragon All-Sports Tickes are valid)

A pair of solid 1-0 teams await the No. 13-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team this weekend at the BSN Sports Tipoff Classic at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons open with a 2022 NJCAA national semifinal team in the Triton Trojans, who are ranked No. 7 in the preseason rankings, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hutchinson then plays host to a much-improved Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO) team at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The 2022-23 KJCCC preseason favorite Blue Dragons opened the season on Tuesday with a 124-101 victory over Fort Scott.

Sophomore Jayden Garrison poured in a career-high 29 points and redshirt freshman Aaron Franklin was right behind with 28 points. Garrison and Franklin combined for 13 of Hutchinson's single-game record 18 3-pointers in the opening-night victory.

The Blue Dragons also had a program single-game record with 24 steals while forcing 37 Fort Scott turnovers. The Dragons produced 43 points off of those Fort Scott turnovers.

The Dragons led 58-40 at halftime and outscored the Greyhounds 66-61 in the second half.

Hutchinson has won 15-straight season openers and is 69-23 all-time on opening night.

The Friday matchup with Triton will be the time the Blue Dragons and Trojans have ever match. Last season, Triton's first appearance at the NJCAA Tournament got all the way to the semifinal round.

Saturday's clash with NEO will be the 26th overall meeting between the Blue Dragons and Golden Norse. Hutchinson leads the series 17-8 and have defeated NEO in eight-consecutive games.

The Blue Dragons continue to be the NJCAA's all-time leader in wins with 1,875 victories since the program started in 1928-29. Vincennes University is second with 1,841.