DRAGONS AIM TO TAKE MOMENTUM INTO HOLIDAY BREAK WITH BATTLE AT CLOUD

Kobe Smith and the Blue Dragon men's basketball team plays at Cloud County at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Concordia. (Paityn Kaminkow/Blue Dragon Sports Information)
Kobe Smith and the Blue Dragon men's basketball team plays at Cloud County at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Concordia. (Paityn Kaminkow/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball hits the road on Saturday in its final game before heading into a 24-day holiday break.

The Blue Dragons (7-5, 3-3 KJCCC) travel to Arley Bryan Gym in Concordia to take on the Cloud County Thunderbirds (9-4, 3-4 KJCCC) in a 4 p.m. Jayhawk Conference matchup.

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 1:45 p.m. with Sean Boston (play-by-play) and Daren Dunn (analyst) calling the action. The game will be streamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 1:45 p.m.

BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL
Hutchinson (7-5, 3-3) at Cloud County (9-4, 3-4)
When: Saturday, December 14, 2024
Where: Arley Bryant Gym, Concordia, KS
Time: 4 p.m.
Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 3:45 p.m. - Sean Boston (PBP); Daren Dunn (analyst)
Video: Blue Dragon Sports Network, 3:45 p.m.
X: @bluedragonsport
CLICK FOR FULL BLUE DRAGON GAME NOTES (PDF Format)

The Blue Dragons look to take some momentum into the holiday great after earning a 83-78 victory over Garden City at the Sports Arena.

Leading the Broncbusters by 10 points at halftime, the Blue Dragons trailed by two points with just more than 13 minutes to play. The Blue Dragon quartet of D.J. Dudley, Jaquez Thornton, Bo Aldridge and Isaiah Jackson responded by combining to score Hutchinson's final 39 points in its five-point victory over the Busters.

Dudley and Thornton finished with 21 points each. Aldridge had 18 points and Jackson had 14 points against Garden City.

The Blue Dragons will face a familiar face on the Cloud County bench as former Hutchinson assistant coach Kyle Pugh is now the head coach of the Thunderbirds.

Cloud County is off to one of its best starts at 9-4, winning all six non-conference games. The Thunderbirds have dropped three-straight games, including an 84-68 setback on Wednesday at Cloud County. The Red Ravens stung the Thunderbirds with 13 turnovers.

Elidjah Savane is one of the top rebounders in the KJCCC, rankings second at 10.6 points per game for the Thunderbirds. He leads the Jayhawk with 44 offensive rebounds and he's third in blocked shots with 27 blocks.

Saturday's game is the 80th all-time meeting between Hutchinson and Cloud County. The Blue Dragons own a 58-21 series advantage, but are only 18-16 in Arley Bryant Gym. Since Cloud County joined the Jayhawk Conference before the 1995-96 season, the Blue Dragons lead the Thunderbirds 40-17.