BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL |
No. 16 Hutchinson (27-5) vs. No. 1 Barton (31-1)
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| When: Saturday, March 16, 2024 Where: Hutchinson Sports Arena, Hutchinson, KS Time: 5 p.m. Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 4:45 p.m. - Glen Grunwald (play-by-play); Dan Naccarato (color) Video: KJCCC Sports Network (PPV), 4:55 p.m. - Scott Gurney and Scott Hogan (on-air) X: @bluedragonsport BLUE DRAGON GAME NOTES (PDF Format) |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team goes after an accomplishment not reached since 2015 on Saturday.
The Blue Dragons go after their 19th Region 6 Tournament championship at 5 p.m. on Saturday when 16th-ranked and third-seeded Hutchinson (27-5) takes on the No. 1-ranked Barton Cougars (31-1) in the title game at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
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 4:45 p.m. with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (color) calling the action. The only stream is a pay-per-view stream provided by the KJCCC Sports Network beginning at 4:55 p.m. with Scott Gurney and Scott Hogan calling the game.
The Blue Dragons advanced to their 31st Region VI championship game in program history after an 89-83 victory over No. 11-ranked and tournament second-seed Cowley Tigers on Friday. Kamryn Thomas posted his third career double-double with 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to lead the Blue Dragons. Kobe Smith and Kernan Bundy came off the bench to score 17 and 14 points, respectively for a 36-17 Hutchinson scoring advantage over Cowley off the bench.
Hutchinson earned a spot in the championship game for the second time in three seasons under head coach Tommy DeSalme.
The Dragons have lost five-straight Region VI championship game matchups, but qualified for the NJCAA tournament on all five occasions. One of those losses was in 2017 when the Blue Dragons won their third NJCAA national championship.
Hutchinson and Barton meet in a Region VI Tournament game for the 16th time in series history. Last season the Blue Dragons traveled to Great Bend for a quarterfinal matchup and dropped a 72-68 decision to the Cougars. The Blue Dragons lead the all-time postseason series with Barton 11-4.
The only time Hutchinson and Barton met in a Region 6 championship game was in 2013 when the Blue Dragons snapped a 16-year championship drought with a 74-57 win over Barton at Koch Arena in Wichita.
Barton advanced to the championship game, rallying from a double-digit first-half deficit to defeat fourth-seeded Butler 79-76. Lajae Jones had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cougars. Barton had to overtime 11 Butler 3-pointers and a minus-seven rebounding advantage.
The Blue Dragons also look to snap a series-worst five-game losing streak to Barton. After dropping all three games last year, Hutchinson fell to Barton 102-80 on January 17 at the Sports Arena and 91-78 on March 3 in Great Bend.