Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The No. 21-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team used a huge first-half performance to cruise to their fifth-consecutive victory on Saturday night.
Six players scored in double figures as Hutchinson shot 50 percent in the opening a 25-point lead by halftime and the Blue Dragons defeated the Pratt Beavers 103-87 at the Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons improved to 9-1 overall and remained unbeaten in Jayhawk Conference play at 4-0. Hutchinson travels to Cloud County on Wednesday in Concordia. Pratt fell to 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the KJCCC.
The Blue Dragons hit seven first-half 3-point goals and were 23 of 46 overall in building a 63-38 victory at halftime. Pratt was just 10 of 28 shooting (38.5 percent), but stayed within sigh of the Dragons hitting 18 of 25 from the free-throw line.
Sophomore Kernan Bundy came off the bench to lead the Blue Dragons with 19 points and a career-high-tying eight rebounds. He also tied a career high with four steals.
Freshman Zoe Holman had a second-straight strong scoring game with 16 points and sophomore Kamryn Thomas returned to the lineup with 16 points, four rebounds and a career-high six assists. Thomas was 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Sophomore Valentino Simon posted the Blue Dragons' first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
J.P. Ricks and Kobe Smith also scored 11 points each. Dre Weathers had eight bounds.
The Blue Dragons shot 47.0 percent (39 of 89), hitting 8 of 29 from 3-point range and 17 of 25 from the free-throw line. Hutchinson out-rebounded Pratt 49-26.
The Blue Dragons racked up a season-high 18 steals in forcing 30 Beaver turnovers. Bundy and Russell Branch had four steals each to lead the Dragons.
Hutchinson also had a season-high 12 blocked shots, which tied for the eighth most in program history. Freshman Edwin Daniel rejected six shots, the most in a game since Tarise Morse had five blocks against Garden City on Feb. 3, 2022. Weathers added three blocks.
Kayvontay Williams had 28 points and nine rebounds to lead Pratt. He was 10 of 13 from the field and 8 of 10 from the line. Justin Robinson had 15 points, going 13 of 14 from the foul line.
The Beavers shot 47.4 percent from the floor (27 of 57), hitting just 1 of 6 from 3-point range and 32 of 43 from the free-throw line.
The Blue Dragons got out to a 7-0 lead and opened the game on a 17-2 run over the first 6:01 of the game. Pratt got back within six points after an 11-2 run to pull within 19-13 with 12:32 to go in the half.
Leading 45-21, the Blue Dragons limited Pratt to just one field goal over the final 4:22 of the half. The Dragons outscored Pratt 15-7 over that span to lead 63-38 at halftime.
A Whitney putback and Holman fastbreak layup on back-to-back possessions opened Hutchinson's largest lead of the game of 29 at 80-51 with 12:39 to play. The Dragons matched that 29-point lead at 82-53 and Pratt went on a 10-0 run to pull within 92-73 with 5:53 to play.
Pratt got the deficit down to 15 points at 102-87 with 1:01 left. The Blue Dragons were outscored 49-40 in the second half.
GAME NOTES – This was all-time win No. 1,903 for the Blue Dragons. … This was the sixth game forcing 30 or more turnovers. … Combined with his freshman season at Southwest Virginia, Valentino Simon surpassed the career 600-point mark with 610 points. … The Dragons outscored Pratt 41-22 in points off the bench. … The Blue Dragons are now 152-28 all-time against Pratt.