NO. 1 BLUE DRAGONS RUN AWAY FROM NO. 14 COFFEYVILLE
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Much like Secretariat did to Sham in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, the No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team just kept pulling away from No. 14 Coffeyville on Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.
Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont by 31 lengths. The Blue Dragons rousted the Red Ravens by 38 points, winning 99-62 in Hutchinson's first home game in two weeks. The margin of victory was the second-largest in series history.
The Blue Dragons improve to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Jayhawk Conference heading into Saturday's road game at Neosho County. Coffeyville falls to 7-1 and 4-1.
The Blue Dragons shot nearly 55 percent and held Coffeyville to just six field goals in the first half as Hutchinson opened up a 48-24 halftime lead. Hutchinson shot nearly 59 percent in a 51-point second half and built leads as large as 37 points late in the game.
J.J. Rhymes scored a game-high 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting to lead the Blue Dragons, who shot 56.9 percent for the game (37 of 65).
Rob Whitfield scored 15 of his 20 points in the first-half surge. Whitfield knocked down a season-high 4 3-pointers on 7 attempts.
Devonte Bandoo had 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting. Bandoo added five assists and three steals..
James Rojas added 11 points and Curtis Hollis added eight off the bench for the Dragons.
Hutch hit 5 of 12 3-pointers and 20 of 27 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons out-rebounded Coffeyville 51-28. The Dragons did have 17 turnovers.
Coffeyville shot a season-low 27.3 percent from the field (18 of 66), going 4 of 20 from long range and 22 of 37 from the free-throw line. The Red Ravens had 13 turnovers.
T.J. Washington had a team-high 13 points to lead the Ravens.
The Dragons trailed 9-4 after a Washington 3-pointer with 16:03 to play in the first half. Hutch then went on an 11-0 run over the next 3 minutes, 18 seconds. Hutch took a 10-9 lead on a Rheaquone Taylor basket with 14:46 left. The run ended on a Rojas basket with 13:50 to play that gave the Dragons a 15-9 lead.
A Whitfield 3-pointer pushed the lead to nine at 20-11 with 10:40 to go in the half. And hit double figures for the first time at 22-12 with a Rhymes jumper with 9:52 remaining. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Whitfield and Bandoo edged the Dragons out to a 33-18 lead with 6:08 to go.
A second 11-0 scoring run gave the Dragons a 41-18 lead on a rhymes layup with 3:49 to go. Hutchinson had leads as large as 26 points in the opening 20 minutes before going to the locker room leading 48-24. The Dragons were 17 of 31 shooting from the floor with four 3-pointers. Coffeyville was just 6 of 23 shooting.
The smallest the Hutchinson lead got in the second half was 23 points in the first minute. The advantage reached 30 for the first time at the 9:44 mark when a Bandoo free throw gave the Dragons a 75-45 lead. It reached a game-high 37 on a Rhymes layup with 3:10 left as Hutchinson built a 90-53 lead.
Hutchinson connected on 20 of 34 shots in the second half (58.8 percent). Coffeyville was 12 of 38 (31.6 percent).