DRAGONS SHAKE OFF RUST TO DEFEAT NORTHWEST TECH

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Showing the effects of three weeks off for the holiday break, the No. 7-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to earn a 96-77 Jayhawk Conference victory over Northwest Tech on Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons improve to 15-1 overall and 9-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. Northwest Tech is now 5-10 overall and 2-7 in the league. Hutchinson travels to Seward County on Saturday for an 8 p.m. tipoff in Liberal.

Hutchinson led just 46-42 at halftime. The Dragons shot 44.4 percent, but allowed Northwest Tech to shoot 61.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Blue Dragons played a much-better second half, hitting 7 3-pointers and outscored the Mavericks 50-35 in the final 20 minutes.

Sophomore Angelo Stuart posted his 12th game of 20 or more points with a game-high 25 points against the Mavericks. He had his sixth game of five or more 3-pointers, nailing 5 of 13 from distance. Stuart added four steals and three assists.

Sophomore Kaimen Lennox scored 18 points and added four assists and three rebounds. Sophomore Kobe Campbell had 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. Freshman Cecil Lee had 11 points and six boards.

Overall, the Blue Dragons shot 47.0 percent (39 of 83) from the field, hitting 10 of 31 shots from 3-point range and 8 of 14 from 3-point range. The Dragons had a narrow 39-37 rebounding advantage. The Dragons had a season-high 26 assists on 39 made baskets. The Dragons had 13 turnovers.

Northwest Tech was the second opponent to shoot better than 50 percent against the Blue Dragons and still lose the game. The Mavericks shot 54.2 percent (26 of 48), going only 2 of 8 from 3-point range and 23 of 35 from the free-throw line.

Timothy Moore finished with a game-high 19 points to lead Northwest Tech. Ethan Yancy had 14 points and Myles Arnold had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Blue Dragons started fast jumping out to a 13-4 lead after a Lennox layup with 17:06 to play in the opening half. Tech scored 11 of the next 16 points to pull within 18-15 after a Yancy jumper with 11:51 to play. Northwest Tech extended that run to 22-13 and tied the game at 26-all on a Myles three-point play with 7:30 remaining in the first half.

The Dragons immediately answered with a Lennox 3-pointer and Tarese Mores three-point play for a 32-26 lead. A Campbell layup capped a 10-2 run to help Hutchinson lead 38-28 with 5:16 to go. Hutchinson led 46-38 with six unanswered points, but Tech scored the final four points of the first half and the Blue Dragons lead 46-42 at halftime.

Leading 57-53, the Blue Dragons started to take control. An inside hoop by Josiah Harris and back-to-back Stuart 3-pointers boosted the Blue Dragon lead to 67-58 with 13:45 to play.

Northwest Tech got within 75-66 after a Youseff Timera layup with 8:16 to play. The Dragons answered with a quick 8-0 run over a span of 1 minute, 2 seconds to build an 83-66 lead after a Nate Goodlow layup with 6:19 to go. Hutchinson extended its run to 17-4 to build a 92-70 lead after a Jayden Hall 3-pointer with 2:56 remaining in the game.

GAME NOTES – Hutchinson now has seven games of 10 or more 3-pointers this season. … The Blue Dragons are now 9-1 all-time against Northwest Tech.