NO. 14 HUTCHINSON’S KJCCC OPENER IS TOP-15 TILT WITH NO. 8 COFFEYVILLE
BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL |
No. 14 Hutchinson (1-0, 0-0) vs. No. 8 Coffeyville (2-0, 0-0) |
| When: Wednesday, January 27, 2021 Where: Hutchinson Sports Arena, Hutchinson, KS Time: 7:30 p.m. Live Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 7:15 p.m. - Glen Grunwald (PBP), Dan Naccarato (Color) Video: Blue Dragon Sports Network, 7:15 p.m. Fans: No fans allowed for this game Twitter: @bluedragonsport CLICK FOR GAME NOTES (PDF format) |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
For the fourth-straight season, the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team and Coffeyville will open the Jayhawk Conference season for both teams.
Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. matchup at the Sports Arena will the an NJCAA Top 15 matchup. The Blue Dragons enter the game ranked No. 14, up three spots from its preseason ranking. The Red Ravens, the defending Region VI champions are ranked No. 8.
This will be the fifth-straight meeting between Hutchinson and Coffeyville with both teams ranked in the NJCAA national poll.
The head coaches are Jayhawk Conference veterans who have dueled against each other for the better part of 25 years. Blue Dragon head coach Steve Eck ranks fourth in Jayhawk Conference career coaching victories. Coffeyville's Jay Herkelman is No. 1 on that list with 662.
Wednesday's matchup between Eck and Herkelman will be the 15th since Eck came to the Blue Dragons in the 2009-10 season. Each coach has seven victories in the first 14 matchups.
Hutchinson rode the breakout game of sophomore Matt Mayers to an 87-71 season-opening victory over Seminole State on Friday at the Sports Arena. Mayers posted his first career double-double career highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Josh Baker added 20 points on 4 of 10 3-point shooting. Stephan Gabriel added 10 points.
The Blue Dragons shot just 41.0 percent against the Trojans, but held a decisive 50-35 rebounding advantage, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to a 19-7 advantage in second-chance points.
The Red Ravens enter Wednesday's contest 2-0 with impressive wins over Missouri State-West Plains (86-46) and Labette (94-51).
The Red Ravens are riding an 11-game winning streak that dates back to last season, which includes three games in winning the Region VI Tournament.
Wednesday's matchup will be the 52nd in series history between Hutchinson and Coffeyville. The Blue Dragons have one the last two meetings and owns an overall 29-22 series advantage.