DRAGONS OUTLAST SAINTS’ UPSET BID

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

LIBERAL – Bo Aldridge and D.J. Dudley combined for 34 points and the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team leaned on its defense once again for a third-straight victory.

The Blue Dragons held off a late Seward County challenge for a 57-54 victory over the Saints at the Green House, the Dragons' 12th-straight win over Seward County.

The Blue Dragon win, combined with Butler's loss to Cloud County, clinched a top-four Jayhawk Conference finish and an opening-round bye for the Region 6 Tournament. The Dragons are now 19-10 overall and 15-8 in the KJCCC. The Blue Dragons close out the regular season at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday against Dodge City. Seward County is now 3-25 overall and 2-21 in the league.

The last time the Blue Dragons scored in the 50s and won a game was on December 10, 2011 when Hutchinson defeated Western Oklahoma State 54-51.

The Blue Dragons looked to be in control, leading 50-33 with 7:24 remaining in the contest. But the Saints rallied, outscoring the Dragons 21-4 and pulled within 55-54 on a Mahammed Jobe basket with 48 seconds to play. The Dragons had a turnover and the Saints had an opportunity to take the lead. Jobe was called for a travel with 8.0 seconds to play. Kobe Smith was fouled with 7.1 seconds to go and made both free throws for a 57-54 lead. The Saints missed a desperation 3-point try at the buzzer.

Aldridge scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Blue Dragons. Aldridge was 9 of 14 shooting with two 3-pointers. He had four rebounds and a steal.

Dudley had 13 points on 6 of 11 shooting. Dudley added three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Smith was next with six points and Mikhail Abdul-Hamid added five points.

The Blue Dragons shot 53.3 percent for the game (24 of 45), hitting 5 of 15 from 3-point range and 4 of 8 from the free-throw line. The Dragons out-rebounded Seward County 29-26 and had 14 turnovers.

Jobe had 22 points and Loic Affounmon had 14 points to Seward County. The Saints shot 36.7 percent (18 of 49), hitting 3 of 13 3-pointers and 15 of 17 from the foul line. The Saints had 11 turnovers.

The Dragons jumped out to a 10-3 lead after an Abdul-Hamid 3-pointer with 12:13 remaining in the first half. They led 21-8 after a Dudley transition layup with 5:03 to play. Bobby Cannon's layup with 2:11 to go gave the Dragons a 25-14 lead. The Saints closed the half on a 6-0 run and Hutchinson led 25-18 at halftime.

Hutchinson upped its lead to double figures early in the second half when Dudley's 3-pointer with 17:05 to play capped a 7-2 run for a 34-22 lead. An 8-0 Hutchinson run boosted the lead to 16 points at 42-26 after a Aldridge alley-oop dunk with 11:51 to play.

Dudley scored with 7:24 to play to give the Dragons a game-high 17-point lead at 50-33. Seward responded with an 8-0 run over the next 2:42 to pull within 50-42 with 4:45 to go. Aldridge stopped that run with a layup at the 2:36 mark.

Leading 54-43 after an Isaiah Jackson layup with 2:21 to go, the Dragons saw their lead dwindle to 55-54 after a Jobe basket with 48 seconds left.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are 88-31 all-time against Seward County, including 52-6 at the Sports Arena. … This was all-time win No. 1,942. … The Blue Dragons are allowing only 58.3 points defensively over their last three games. … The 18 points allowed in the first half was a season low. … This was the fewest points allowed in a half since Labette scored 13 points on November 9, 2019. … The Dragons are 6-0 this season in games decided by three points or less. … This was the fourth game this season to hold an opponent to less than 60 points. … The Dragons are 8-4 in road games this season.