BLUE DRAGONS TO FACE SURGING COLBY WEDNESDAY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Riding a three-game winning streak, the No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team plays host to another team on the same streak on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons (8-1, 4-1 Jayhawk Conference) meets the Colby Trojans (6-2, 3-2) at 7:30 p.m. in a Jayhawk Conference contest. The game can be heard live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Rusty Hilst (analyst) calling the action. Airtime is at 7:20 p.m. The Blue Dragon Sports Network will also provide live video of the game.

Hutchinson, Coffeyville and Cowley are tied for second place in the Jayhawk Conference, one game behind early-season leader Barton. Colby, Garden City and Dodge City are in a pack right behind the Blue Dragons at 3-2.

Since losing in overtime at Cloud County on November 15, the Blue Dragons have defeated Pratt, No. 14 Coffeyville and Neosho County. Saturday's win at Neosho was a hard-fought 76-64 triumph, just four days after pounding No. 14 Coffeyville 99-62.

Blue Dragon sophomore Devonte Bandoo had his first career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to lead the Blue Dragons against Neosho County. Hitting 7 of 15 shots from the floor, Bandoo added four assists. Freshman James Rojas led a big Dragon effort off the bench with a season-high 19 points, going 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. Rojas just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Rojas helped the Dragons amass a 28-9 advantage in points off the bench.

Led by former Blue Dragon player Rusty Grafel – he played for Chad Wintz in the 2003 and 2004 seasons – the Trojans have earned wins over Allen, Independence and Dodge City to move to 3-2 in the league and 6-2 overall.

The Blue Dragons are ranked No. 3 in the Jayhawk Conference in scoring offense at 93.1 points per game. The Dragons are fourth in field-goal percentage at 48.8 percent shooting and have climbed to sixth in 3-point percentage at 33.8 percent. Hutchinson is second in the league in scoring defense at 59.6 points per game allowed.

Sophomore J.J. Rhymes continues to lead the Blue Dragons in scoring at 19.1 points per game, shooting 46.6 percent from the floor. Rhymes ranks second in the Jayhawk Conference in scoring.

Bandoo is second in scoring at 14.4 points per game. He is also averaging 5.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Rojas comes off the bench to average 10.3 points per game.

Colby is the fifth-highest scoring team in the Jayhawk at 86.8 points per game. The Trojans are shooting 43.8 percent overall and 26.6 percent from 3-point range. Colby ranks sixth in scoring defense at 72.0 points per game allowed.

Milton Wordlow III is Colby's leading scorer at 13.8 points per game. James Dalton averages 10.9 points per game and Quintavius Eagle is at 10.6 points per game.