Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Eastern Division of the Jayhawk Conference is proving to be very tough through the first third of the 2018-19 season.

The No. 7-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team continues its tour through the East on Wednesday with a road trip to Chanute to face a hot Neosho County Panther team in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Panther Gymnasium.

The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) at 7:20 p.m. with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Daren Dunn (analysis) calling the action. The game will also be videostreamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network at 7:20 p.m.

The Blue Dragons are 10-1 overall and 1-1 in the Jayhawk West. The Dragons dropped their conference opener at No. 4 Coffeyville one week ago, but rebounded in a big way with an 83-51 win over Independence. The Dragons continue to score at a high rate at 95.9 points per game while allowing 71.5. Those numbers have dropped since the beginning of conference play to 75.0 points offensively and 64.5 points defensively.

Neosho County started the season with a stunning 24-point loss to Labette, the same team that pushed Hutchinson into overtime on November 17 in El Dorado. The Dragons finally won that game 105-98. The Panthers also lost to NJCAA Division II-No. 3 Highland 79-69.

Since, the Panthers knocked off No. 25 Connors State on the road, 86-77 and have opened conference play with wins over Colby (80-76 ) and Dodge City (77-68).

Hutchinson owns the No. 2 offense in the KJCCC and Neosho County counters with the seventh-best offense. Conversely, the Panthers are No. 4 in scoring defense in the Jayhawk Conference at 68.7 points per game, while Hutchinson ranks 11th in the league in scoring defense at 71.5 points per game.

Three of the Top 10 scorers in Wednesday's game will be featured.

Neosho County guard Magic Reliford is sixth in scoring average at 18.0 points per game. Reliford also has a conference-high 31 3-pointers and shoots 39.2 percent from distance. Guard Brian Tolefree is 10th in the league at 16.3 points per game.

The Blue Dragons are led by sophomore forward James Rojas, who is ninth in the league at 17.4 points per game. He is 13th in field goal percentage at 57.4 percent.

Hutchinson won both regular-season meetings last season. The Blue Dragons return home on Saturday to take on Butler at 7:30 p.m. in the Sports Arena.