Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The No. 5-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team placed six players in double figures and used a key late first-half surge to defeat the Independence Pirates 118-103 on Monday night to open the second half of Jayhawk Conference play.
The Blue Dragons completed a season sweep and won their 17th-consecutive game over the Pirates. Hutchinson is now 17-2 overall and 11-2 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons play host to Cloud County at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.
Hutchinson posted its seventh game with 100 or more points, but trailed 21-11 after the Pirates used a 17-0 run over a stretch of 4 minutes, 15 seconds to erase a seven-point deficit and build a 21-11 lead after a Johan Nziemi dunk gave the Pirates a 21-11 lead with 14:04 to play in the first half.
The Blue Dragons quickly battled back and took a 39-37 lead after an Angelo Stuart 3-poitner with 5:52 to play. Then leading 45-43, the Blue Dragons stunned the Pirates with a 13-2 run over a 2 minute, 5 seconds stretch. A Josiah Harris dunk gave the Dragons a 58-45 lead with 2:10 to play in the half. Hutch led 60-51 at halftime.
Stuart led the Blue Dragons with 25 points, hitting 3 of 6 from 3-point range to lead the Blue Dragons.
Cecil Lee posted his first career double-double with career-high-tying marks of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Lee hit a career-high four 3-pointers in six attempts.
Kaimen Lennox had 12 points, a career-high-tying seven assists and four rebounds. Jacquez Yow finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Jayden Garrison posted a season-high point total for the third-straight game, closing with 13 points and five rebounds with a pair of 3-pointers. Nate Goodlow finished with 11 points, three assists and five steals.
The Blue Dragons shot 38.4 percent for the game (38 of 99), hitting 13 of 33 from 3-point range and 29 of 35 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had a 55-49 rebounding advantage and had 20 assists to 12 turnovers with 16 steals.
The Pirates were led by Nziemi's 27 points and 13 rebounds. Nziemi was 10 of 14 from the floor. Jordan Clark went 12 of 12 from the free-throw line to close with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Rodney Munson had 16 points. Precious Okoh had 12 and Ty Butner added 11.
Independence shot better than 50 percent but turned the ball over 24 times. Indy was 34 of 67 shooting overall, going 2 of 8 from 3-point range and 33 of 48 from the free-throw line.
After the Blue Dragons trailed by 10 points in the first half, they immediately answered with a 9-0 run that was capped by a Lennox 3-pointer with 11:55 to go to pull within 21-20. The teams then traded 5-0 runs for the Pirates to maintain its slim lead.
Hutchinson finally regained the lead at 39-37 on Stuart's 3-pointer with 5:52 to play. A Lee 3-pointer with 4:28 to go gave the Dragons a 45-41 lead, but the Pirates answered with an Ian Hardy bucket to cut the Dragon lead back to two with 4:15 remaining.
The Blue Dragons then exploded over a stretch of 2:05 to take control of the game. Goodlow had a layup and 3-pointer. Garrison and Zavion McClendon added 3-points and when Harris dunked with 2:10 to play in the half, that capped a quick 13-2 run that gave the Dragons a 58-45 lead.
The Pirates scored the next six points, but Stuart's inside bucket with 11 seconds remaining gave the Blue Dragons a 60-51 lead at halftime.
The Dragons scored the first six points of the second half to extend the lead to 15 points at 66-51. From that point, Hutchinson never allowed the game to get back to single digits. The closest Independence got was 11 points at 71-60, but the Dragons answered that challenge with a 10-2 run that was capped by a Yow dunk with 14:11 to go for an 81-62 Hutchinson lead.
GAME NOTES – This was all-time win No. 1,867 for the Blue Dragons. … Hutchinson is now 53-23 all-time against Independence. … The 17-game win streak is the longest for either team in series history. … This was Hutchinson's 10th games this season with 10 or more 3-pointers. … The 29 made free throws for the Dragons was a season high. … Cameron Robins had season highs of four points and four free throws. … Tarese Morse had a season-high three steals. … Stuart has his 15th game of 20 or more points this season.