BLUE DRAGONS TO BATTLE BLUE DEVILS IN FINAL GAME OF HOMESTAND

Jaquez Thornton and the No. 15 Blue Dragons play host to Kansas City at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Sports Arena. (Paityn Kaminkow/Blue Dragon Sports Information)
Jaquez Thornton and the No. 15 Blue Dragons play host to Kansas City at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Sports Arena. (Paityn Kaminkow/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Off to a 3-0 start, the No. 15-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team will close out its season-opening four-game homestand on Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons will play host to the Kansas City Blue Devils in a 7 p.m. matchup. Kansas City is ranked No. 24 in NJCAA Division II and is 3-1 heading into Tuesday's game.

The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.) and sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) with Sean Boston (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (analyst) calling the action beginning at 6:45 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the Blue Dragon Sports Network at 6:45 p.m.

BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL
No. 15 Hutchinson (3-0) vs DII-No. 24 Kansas City (3-1)
When: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Where: Hutchinson Sports Arena, Hutchinson, KS
Tipoff: 7:00 p.m.
Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 6:45 p.m. - Sean Boston (PBP); Dan Naccarato (Analyst)
Video: Blue Dragon Sports Network, 6:45 p.m.
X: @bluedragonsport
CLICK FOR BLUE DRAGON GAME NOTES (PDF Format)

The Blue Dragons finished off the BSN Sports Tip-Off Classic with a 2-0 record after defeating Southwestern Christian 96-91 in overtime on Friday and Labette 72-60 on Saturday.

Against, Southwestern Christian, the Blue Dragons rallied from nine points down with 6 minutes remaining in the second half and outscored the Rams 12-7 in overtime. Jaquez Thornton led the Blue Dragons with 28 points.

Bo Aldridge had a season-high 22 points on 9-10 shooting to lead Hutchinson in Saturday's victory over Labette.

Kansas City started its season 3-0, but lost to North-Central Missouri 86-68 on Saturday night in the Blue Devils' latest game. Hutchinson will be one of three Division I opponents that will play the Blue Devils this season.

One tremendous early positive trend in Kyle Fisher's first season is that the Blue Dragons have shot better than 50 percent in three-straight games.

Hutchinson is currently 11th in the NJCAA in overall shooting at 54.0 percent. The Dragons are also shooting a robust 40 percent from 3-point range, which is 23rd in the nation.

The Blue Dragons have five players currently averaging in double figures led by Thornton's 15.3 points per game. Aldridge is averaging 14.0 points per game and Bobby Cannon is averaging 13.3 points per game to lead Hutchinson.

Tuesday's matchup will be only the 22nd meeting between Hutchinson and Kansas City in a series that started in 1930. Tuesday's game will be only the second game played between the Blue Dragons and Blue Devils since 2008. Hutchinson won a 2020 matchup 98-67 in early 2020.

The Blue Dragons own a 16-5 series record over Kansas City.

After Tuesday, the Dragons won't be at the Sports Arena again until Nov. 26 vs. Colby.