ODHIAMBO’S BIG NIGHT HIGHLIGHT’S ANOTHER DRAGON COMEBACK

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

DODGE CITY – Freshman Fred Odhiambo posted his first career double-double and the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team pulled off its second-straight late-game rally to earn a huge Jayhawk West victory on Wednesday night.

Hutchinson trailed by five points with just more than 3 minutes left in regulation and rallied to force overtime and ultimately defeat Dodge City 98-90 at Dodge's Student Activity Center.

The Blue Dragons were down 84-79 with 3:07 remaining in the second half and were still down 86-84 with 57 seconds remaining. Saquan Singleton scored with 29 seconds left to knot the score at 86. Boubacar Kamissoko's blocked shot on Dodge's final possession of regulation helped Hutch force regulation.

Tied at 90 in overtime, Hutchinson scored the final eight points of the game to move to 3-0 in overtime games this season.

The Blue Dragons improve to 17-3 overall and 8-3 in the Jayhawk West. Dodge City falls to 7-13 overall and 2-9 in league play.

Odhiambo had a huge game with career highs of 18 points and 18 rebounds for her first career double-double. Odhiambo hit a career best 8 field goals in 10 attempts and he posted a new career high with seven blocked shots. His 18 rebounds tied for the sixth most in Blue Dragon single-game history. His seven blocked shots tied for the fifth most blocks in single-game history.

Hutchinson head coach Steve Eck won his 599th game as a junior college head coach at four schools. He makes his first attempt at No. 600 on Saturday when the Blue Dragons play host to Colby at 7:30 p.m. at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons shot 49.7 percent (33 of 67) from the field, hitting 5 of 17 from 3-point range and 27 of 40 from the free-throw line.

Five players scored in double figures for Hutchinson led by freshman D.J. Mitchell's 20 points. Mitchell hit 3 or 8 3-pointers and 5 of 5 from the foul line.

Singleton finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Rheaquone Taylor had 11 points, while Chris Giles and Malique Jacobs had 10 points each. Giles tied a career high with four assists.

The Blue Dragons were out-rebounded 59-48, giving up 29 offensive rebounds.

Three players – Kevin Howard, Jyrus Freels and Laurence Bryant – scored 19 points each to lead Dodge City. Freels, the Jayhawk Conference's leading scorer and rebounder, was 9 of 21 from the field and he finished with his 15th double-double grabbing 12 rebounds.

Dodge City finished shooting 32.6 percent (30 of 92), hitting 9 of 28 from 3-point range and 21 of 29 from the free-throw line.

The Dragons led 8-2, but Dodge City went on a 14-0 run to lead 16-8. The Dragons countered with a 12-4 run capped by Jacobs' steal and three-point play with 9:39 remaining. There were five more lead changes in the first half and Dodge City led 43-41 at halftime.

Tyler Brown's fast break layup with 16:49 left gave Hutch a 54-49 lead to cap a 10-0 Dragon run and a Singleton layup with 14:10 left gave the Dragons a 59-53 lead. Singleton converted a three-point play to tie the score at 71 and an Odhiambo tip-in gave Hutch a 79-78 lead with 4:30 to go.

Dodge City scored six in a row to build an 84-79 lead with 3:07 remaining. In much the same situation as Saturday against Pratt, the Blue Dragons rallied late and tied the game at 86 on a Singleton drive to the hoop with 39 seconds left. Kamissoko came up with a huge block on a Dodge City shot in the paint on the Conqs' final possession. Dodge got one more shot off that was well off the mark to send the game to overtime.

Taylor hit four free throws in overtime; the second pair with 1:53 remaining gave Hutch a 92-90. That started a game-clinching 8-0 run. Giles, Mitchell and Brown all hit two-shot free-throw attempts in that 8-0 run. Dodge City missed its final five shot attempts of the game.

GAME NOTES – This was all-time Hutchinson win No. 1,797. … The Dragons are now 2-3 when trailing at halftime. … The Dragons are now 119-64 all-time against Dodge City, including 6-1 in overtime games. … Dodge City's Justice Dixon had 12 assists, a new opponent single-game high for the season. … The 59 rebounds allowed were the first 50-rebound game the Blue Dragons have given up since Brown Mackie had 50 boards in 2015. … The Dragons are now 5-2 in road games and 5-3 when getting out-rebounded. … This was the 12th time this season the Blue Dragons allowed less than 40 percent shooting to an opponent.