DRAGONS CLOSE HOMESTAND WITH PRATT ON WEDNESDAY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Since the upset to Dodge City on January 13, the Hutchinson Community College Men's Basketball Team has put together two impressive performances to turn things around in a positive fashion.

The No. 12-ranked Blue Dragons try to make it three strong performances in a row, but they will have to do it against the No. 1 scoring team in the Jayhawk Conference as the Pratt Beavers come to the Sports Arena Wednesday night.

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM/FM at 7:20 p.m. with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Rusty Hilst (analysis) calling the action. The game will also be videostreamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network at 7:20 p.m.

Pratt leads the conference in scoring offense at 95.7 points per game. The Beavers have broken 100 points seven times with a season-high of 135. Pratt is also No. 1 in the KJCCC in field-goal percentage (50.7 percent), second in made 3-pointers (8.8 per game) and third in 3-point efficiency (38.3 percent).

The Blue Dragons will combat that with the second-best scoring defense in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons allow 68.7 points per game. Hutch also has the No. 1 field-goal defense in the league (37.4 percent) and 3-point defense (28.8 percent).

Those were pretty much the same rankings in the first meeting of the season on November 18 in Pratt. The final score: Hutchinson 109, Pratt 100.

Over the last two games, the Blue Dragons have turned up the defensive intensity in their last two wins, which have come by an average winning margin of 27.5 points. The Blue Dragons have held their last two opponents to average of 64 points, 32.2 percent from the floor, 29,1 percent from 3-point range, a plus-25 rebounding margin and 16.5 turnovers forced in victories over Seward County and Cloud County.

The Blue Dragons pulled away from Cloud County on Saturday in a 96-63 victory at the Sports Arena. J.J. Rhymes had 38 points and the Blue Dragons shot 52.4 percent, while holding the Thunderbirds to 32.5 percent from the field.

Pratt comes in on short rest after playing on Monday at Independence to make up a game that was postponed on Jan. 17. The Beavers were held to a season-low 59 points in a 65-59 loss to the Pirates.