MAYERS’ HUGE NIGHT NOT ENOUGH FOR BLUE DRAGONS

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

ARKANSAS CITY - Hutchinson Community College sophomore forward Matt Mayers had quite a Wednesday.

Early in the day, Mayers was named by the Jayhawk Conference Player of the Week and later named the NJCAA National Player of the Week. For an encore, the sophomore from Hastings-On-Hudson, New York, posted a huge double-double and scored the fourth-most points in Blue Dragon single-game history against No. 23 Cowley at Scott Auditorium.

Mayers' 44-point, 14-rebound effort wasn't enough for the Blue Dragons to overcome a season-high 31 turnovers and a dubious record of 19 3-pointers allowed as Hutchinson fell to the Tigers, 113-99.

Hutchinson had its three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-3 overall and 4-3 in the Jayhawk West. Hutchinson plays host to No. 22 Dodge City at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the Sports Arena. Cowley won its third-straight over the Blue Dragons and improved to 6-3 overall and 6-1 in the Jayhawk West.

Mayers became just the eighth Blue Dragon in program history to score 40 or more points in a game and was the first since J.J. Rhymes' 41-point outing at Butler in 2017. Only Darius Johnson-Odom (46 points vs. Coffeyville in 2008), Bashir Ahmed (46 points vs. Cowley in 2016) and Richard Morsden (45 points vs. Dodge City in 1972) had bigger single scoring games than Mayers.

Mayers' shot 15 of 20 from the field. His 15 field goals are a single-game Blue Dragon record. Mayers was 14 of 14 from the free-throw line, which tied for the sixth-most free throws in single-game history. Along with his career-high 14 rebounds, Mayers posted his fourth career double-double.

But turnovers and Cowley's torrid 3-point shooting were too much for the Dragons to overcome.

The Blue Dragons committed 31 turnovers, which led to a 42-6 Cowley advantage in points off turnovers. It was the first time since February 2, 2009 that the Blue Dragons committed 30 or more turnovers in a game.

The Tigers also sank 19 of 43 free-throw attempts, the most 3-pointers ever allowed by a Blue Dragon team. Six difference Tigers hit 3-pointers in the game led by Moun'Tae Edmundson's six, Cevin Clark's five and Mike'l Henderson's four 3-pointers.

The 113 points allowed tied for the third most points given up in a single game in Blue Dragon history.

Hidden in all of that was the fact the Blue Dragons had season highs in points and field-goal percentage at 55.9 percent. The Dragons also out-rebounded Cowley 51-29.

Sophomore Majok Kuath scored a season-high 22 points on 10 of 17 shooting with a season-high-tying nine rebounds. Chris Robinson was the only other Blue Dragon in double figures with 13 points and a season-high seven assists.

The Blue Dragons were 38 of 68 overall, going 0 for 3 from 3-point range and 23 of 30 from the free-throw line.

Henderson set an individual opponent high of 29 points to lead the Tigers. Clark had 19 points, Edmundson had 18 points and Dalen Ridgnal had 17 points for the Tigers.

Cowley shot 44.7 percent (34 of 76) overall and was 26 of 32 from the free-throw line. The Tigers had 16 turnovers.

Hutchinson allowed a season-worst 56 points on 10 3-pointers in the first half as Cowley led 56-47 at halftime. The Blue Dragons made several second-half runs at the Tigers, but were turned away at every challenge.

A Jaden Okon layup with 18:39 left pulled the Blue Dragons within 58-52, but Cowley instantly responded with an 8-2 surge and led 66-54 after a Ridgnal field goal with 17:00 to play in the half.

Hutchinson's most serious challenge got the Blue Dragons within 72-68 after a Kuath dunk with 12:42 remaining. A Clark 3-pointer with 10:23 to go capped an 11-2 Tiger run and Cowley instantly led 83-70.

Another Clark trey gave the Tigers a 16-point lead at 92-76 with 7:27 left. The Dragons made things interesting in the final minutes and pulled within 103-97 after a Kuath hoop with 1:46 to go. Cowley finished off the Dragons going 10 of 10 from the free-throw line for the remainder of the game.

GAME NOTES – Cowley's 113-point effort matched its 113 points scored against Hutchinson on January 6, 2016 in the Sports Arena, a 113-111 triple-overtime victory by the Tigers. … The 99 points scored in a loss is the fourth-highest output by the Blue Dragons in a loss. … The previous record for 3-pointers for the Blue Dragons was 18 set by Neosho County on January 31, 2018. … The Dragons are now 86-44 all-time against Cowley. … Hutchinson is 1-2 in road games this season. … The Dragons are now 0-2 against nationally ranked teams this season.