EARLY SURGE POWERS DRAGONS PAST RED DEVILS

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team shot better than 52 percent and used a 16-0 scoring run in the first half to cruise to a 100-64 victory over Allen on Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons improved to 3-0 with the victory. Hutchinson will play NOC-Enid and NOC-Tonkawa on Friday and Saturday, respectively, at the Barton Classic in Great Bend. Game times each day are at 3 p.m.

For the third-straight game, the Blue Dragons had five players scoring in double figures led by Kamryn Thomas and Kernan Bundy, both tied for team-high honors with 16 points. Bundy was 7 of 10 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. Thomas also had two 3-pointers and finished 4 of 6 from the free-throw line.

Forward Dre Weathers scored 14 points with four rebounds. Valentino Simon had 13 points and seven rebounds. Dallas Whitney chipped in 13 points, six rebounds and five steals.

Landon Wagler added eight points and Zoe Holman had seven points.

J.P. Ricks had a season-high nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.

The Blue Dragons shot 39 of 79 from the field for a season-high 49.4 percent. Hutchinson was 6 of 23 from the 3-point arc and 16 of 27 from the foul line. The Blue Dragons out-rebounded Allen 47-33 with 19 offensive rebounds. The Dragons tallied 22 assists and had 19 steals.

Allen was held to 37.5 percent shooting from the floor (26 of 64), hitting 9 of 29 from 3-point range and 7 of 10 from the foul line. The Red Devils committed 33 turnovers and the Dragons turned that into a 46-16 advantage in points off turnovers.

Grayson Ryan hit six 3-pointers and finished with a game-18 points.

The teams traded early runs to start the game. The Blue Dragons scored the first eight points of the contest, taking an 8-0 lead on a Weathers' dunk. Allen then responded with an 10-3 run to pull within 11-10 with 14:34 to play in the half.

Bundy's jumper in the paint started a 16-point unanswered run by the Blue Dragons over the next 5 minutes, 14 seconds. A Weathers' dunk with 11:31 left in the half pushed Hutchinson to its first double-figures lead. Whitney hit two free throws with 9:20 left to cap the run and give the Dragons a 27-10 lead.

The Blue Dragons shot 52.5 percent (21 of 40) to build a 53-34 lead at halftime.

Allen scored the first five points of the second half to pull within 14 points, but the Red Devils never pulled any closer. A Dragons' 9-3 run pushed the lead back to 20 when Edwin Daniel's layup with 15:33 to play gave the Dragons a 62-42 lead.

Leading by 17 points, the Dragons extended the lead to 27 with a 10-0 run. Wagler's jumper with 8:49 remaining gave Hutchinson a 79-52 advantage. Holman's fastbreak bucket with 5:19 left pushed the Dragon lead to 30 points for the first time at 88-58. Hutchinson's largest lead of the game was 38 points.

GAME NOTES – This was all-time victory No. 1,897 for Blue Dragon basketball … The Dragons lead the all-time series with Allen now 45-9 and 20-8 in games played in Hutchinson.