BLUE DRAGONS TAKE ON NORTH LAKE, NEO THIS WEEKEND

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The NJCAA top-ranked Hutchinson Community College Men's Basketball team continues a very busy opening week with matchups against North Lake College and NEO on Friday and Saturday at the Sports Arena.

The 2017 National Champion Blue Dragons had a successful start on Wednesday with a 102-56 victory over the Friends JV to win their 11th consecutive season opener.

The Blue Dragons had four players scoring in double figures and shot better than 53 percent in the rout of the Falcons.

The Friday matchup with Hutch and North Lake is rare as two No. 1 teams will battle each other. North Lake is the No. 1 preseason team in the NJCAA Division III Rankings. Both are defending NJCAA National Champions.

This is North Lake's season-opening weekend.

NEO opened its season on Wednesday with a 90-63 victory over Central Baptist College.

Hutchinson's match-up with North Lake will be the fifth in series history. The Blue Dragons are 4-0 against the Blazers. The 2015 meeting at the Sports Arena was a close one, but Hutchinson pulled out a 73-68 victory.

The Blue Dragons and Golden Norse will do battle on Saturday for the 23rd time in a series that started in 1957. The Blue Dragons have won five in a row in the series and has a 14-8 series advantage over NEO. Last season, the Dragons defeated the Norse 90-57.

The Blue Dragons will close out their non-conference schedule on Tuesday with a trip to Hillsboro to take on the Tabor College JV in a 7:30 p.m. matchup.

The Tabor College Junior Varsity will be the fourth team this weekend in the Arena.