NO. 16 DRAGONS EARN REGION 6 SEMIFINAL WIN OVER NO. 11 COWLEY

Kamyn Thomas posted a double-double with 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in Hutchinson's 89-83 victory over Cowley in the semifinals of the 2024 Region 6 Tournament at the Sports Arena. (Andrew Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

March 15, 2024

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Kamryn Thomas posted his third double-double and the No. 16-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team used a huge first-half run to propel itself into Saturday's Region 6 Tournament Championship game.

The third-seeded Blue Dragons opened a 15-point lead at halftime and led by as many as 19 points in the second half as Hutchinson eliminated No. 11 and second-seeded Tigers Cowley 89-83 in Friday's Region VI Tournament semifinals at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons (27-5) will play No. 1-ranked Barton for the 2024 Region 6 Tournament championship at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Sports Arena. Cowley fell to 27-5 overall and the Blue Dragons earned a key victory over the Tigers, winning the season series 2-1, in hopes of at-large bids for the NJCAA Tournament.

Hutchinson played in the Region VI Tournament championship game for the second time in head coach Tommy DeSalme's three seasons on the Hutchinson bench. The Dragons look for their first regional championship since 2015.

Thomas scored 12 first-half points and the Blue Dragons knocked down 6 of 12 3-pointers in the first half in building a 42-27 lead over the Tigers. Trailing 12-9, a Kernan Bundy 3-pointers sparked a 10-0 Dragon run that was capped by a Landon Wagler 3-pointer with 11:08 to play in the opening half for a 19-12 Hutchinson lead. A Bundy field goal later in the half started an 8-0 run that was capped by Bundy's inside bucket that gave the Dragons a 33-18 lead with 5:33 to play.

The Dragons shot 53.3 percent in the first 20 minutes to build a 42-27 lead at halftime. The Dragons had a game-high 19-point lead at 74-55 with 6:55 to play in the second half. Hutchinson held off a late Cowley charges as the Tigers held the Dragons to just two field goals over that span and made it a one-possession game with 19 seconds to play. Hutchinson hit 13 of 19 field goals over the final 6:44, including 5 of 8 from the line in the final minute to secure the victory.

Thomas came off his overtime game-winning shot against Garden City on Tuesday with 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Thomas missed just one shot all night, going 7 of 8 from the field, 3 of 3 from 3-point range and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line to lead the Blue Dragons.

Kobe Smith came off the bench to lead a 36-17 Hutchinson advantage in points off the bench with 17 points. Smith was 8 of 8 from the foul line. Bundy had 14 points off the bench on 5 of 7 shooting with five rebounds.

J.P. Ricks finished with 12 points and Russell Branch had a career-high 10 points and three assists.

The Blue Dragons closed the game shooting 49.1 percent from the floor (26 of 53), hitting 7 of 21 from the 3-point line and 30 of 40 from the foul line. The Dragons out-rebounded Cowley 39-38 and had to survive 20 turnovers.

Jeff Nwonkwo had a game-high 27 points to lead the Tigers. Nwonkwo was 9 of 12 from 3-point range. Corey Thomas had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Arzhonte Dallas has 14 points.

The Tigers shot 37.5 percent for the game, going 6 of 26 from the free-throw line and 23 of 34 from the foul line. The Tigers had 13 turnovers.

After Hutchinson built its 19-23 lead in the first half, the Tigers but the lead to 21-16 and was building momentum. That momentum was quickly taken away when Branch was fouled on a made 3-pointers. He completed the four-point play to rebuild a 25-16 lead.

The Dragons were able to maintain a double-digit lead for the remainder of the first half. Smith hit a 3-pointer with 1:16 to play to give the Dragons a 41-25 lead. Branch made 1 of 2 free throws left to give Hutchinson a 42-27 halftime lead.

Branch scored five of what became a 7-0 Dragon run to build a 49-33 lead with 17:12 remaining. Cowley answered with a 7-0 run to pull within 49-40 after two Nwonkwo free throws with 14:58 to go. The Tigers again cut the lead to nine points with 11:39 left, but the Dragons responded and regained a 64-49 lead after a Smith bucket with 10:35 to play.

The Dragons built their largest lead of 19 points after two Ricks free throws gave Hutchinson a 74-55 lead with 6:50 to play. Cowley hit back-to-back 3-pointers and its full-court press disrupted the Dragons offensively. The Dragon lead shrunk to 82-76 with 1:56 to go. Smith stopped that advantage with two free throws with 1:37 to play.

Nwankwo scored to cut the Dragon lead to 86-83 with 19 seconds left. The Dragons closed the game when Ricks hit 1 of 2 free throws and Thomas made both ends of a two-shot foul with 2 seconds to play.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 31-15 all-time in the Region 6 Tournament semifinals and 145-32 all-time in the Region 6 Tournament. … Hutchinson is now 90-48 all-time against Cowley, including 12-9 in postseason meetings. … Landon Wagler had a career-high four assists. … Kobe Smith hit a career-high eight free throws. … This was all-time win No. 1,921. … The Dragons tied a season high with 30 free throws. … Thomas had his 10th 20-point game of the season. … The Blue Dragons are now 4-4 this season against ranked opponents.