3-POINT RECORDS FALL AS DRAGONS DOWN SAINTS
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team owned the final seven minutes Wednesday night against Seward County to earn its third-straight victory as the Blue Dragons enter the final week of the regular season.
In the midst of the Blue Dragons' late-game run, sophomore Angelo Stuart broke the Hutchinson single-season record for 3-point goals.
The No. 19-ranked Blue Dragons closed the game on a 24-8 run to complete a season sweep of Seward County after a 73-59 victory at the Sports Arena. The Blue Dragons improved to 21-6 overall and 15-6 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons are either one win or one Coffeyville loss away from clinching an opening-round bye for the upcoming Region VI Tournament. The Blue Dragons are scheduled to play at Butler in a make-up game on Thursday, weather permitting.
During the Blue Dragons' final run over the final seven minutes, Stuart drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner to break Josh Gonner's Blue Dragon single-season record for 3-pointers set in 2003. Stuart has 83 3-pointers this season. The Blue Dragons hit 9 of 25 3-pointers in the game and broke the Blue Dragon team season record for 3-pointers with 258.
Stuart, who missed the last three games with an injury, led the Blue Dragons in scoring with 17 points.
Kaimen Lennox hit 6 of 10 from the field and finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Kobe Campbell scored 13 points with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Cecil Lee had a couple of 3-pointers and finished with nine points and six rebounds.
The Blue Dragons shot 49.0 percent for the game (25 of 51) and 14 of 20 from the foul line. The Dragons had a 40-26 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over 19 times.
Harvin Ibarguen was 12 of 13 shooting and finished with a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead Seward County. No other Saints' player scored in double figures.
Seward County shot 39.7 percent for the game (23 of 58), going 5 of 22 from 3-point range and 8 of 14 from the foul line. The Saints turned the ball over 12 times.
The Blue Dragons had an early 8-7 lead and put together a 12-3 run to build a 20-10 lead after two Stuart 3-pointers and a Lee free throw with 9:16 left in the first half.
The Dragons then went 7 minutes, 43 seconds without a field goal. The Saints drew within as close as two points on a Branton McCrary jumper with 4:59 left to cut the Dragon lead to 22-20. The Dragons followed with seven unanswered points, finally getting a field goal from Lennox at the 2:51 mark. A Stuart layup gave the Dragons a 29-20 lead with 2:51 to play.
With Hutchinson leading by six points, Seward's Jaylin Henderson hit a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left in the half to cut the Dragon lead to 32-29.
Tied at 35 with 17:12 remaining, the Blue Dragons and Saints traded baskets for the next 8 minutes and took a 51-49 lead after an Ibarguen three-point play with 8:46 remaining.
The Dragons regained the lead on a Kobe Campbell three-point play with 6:58 left for a 52-51 Hutchinson lead. The Dragons followed with 3-pointers from Stuart and Lee for a 58-51 lead with 6L09 to go.
Ky'Lyn Arnett had a three-point play to pull the Saints within four, but Lee nailed another triple and Lennox converted a three-point play to build a 64-54 Dragon lead with 4:47 remaining. Then leading 64-57, Stuart hit his record-breaking 3-pointer with 1:50 left, which started a 9-0 Dragon run to put the game away. Two Campbell free throws with 16 seconds left gave the Dragons a 73-57 lead.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 82-31 all-time against Seward County. … This was all-time win No. 1,869. … The Blue Dragons are 15-1 when leading at halftime and 6-0 when outshooting an opponent. … This was Angelo Stuart's ninth game of four or more 3-pointers in a game.