Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team learned some very valuable lessons in its midweek victory over Independence.

Now the Blue Dragons want to apply what they learned in a home game on Sunday against the Cloud County Thunderbirds. Tipoff at the Hutchinson Sports Arena is 2:00 p.m. The game is sponsored by Superior Boiler and it's HRC Day with the Blue Dragons.

The game will be streamed live on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 3:45 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) beginning at 3:45 p.m.

The big lesson learned on Wednesday was that the Blue Dragons could play at a high level without leading scorer Aaron Franklin, who was strapped with four fouls for most of the second half against Independence. When Franklin left the game, the Blue Dragons led just 65-59. With Franklin on the bench for 9 minutes, 52 seconds, Hutchinson outscored Independence 36-21 to pull away for a 115-94 victory.

Franklin had 20 points to lead the Dragons in the victory on Wednesday. Jayden Garrison and Aaron Potter had 15 points each. The Blue Dragons forced 28 Pirate turnovers, outscoring Independence 38-20 in points off turnovers.

Sunday will be the second meeting of the season between Hutchinson and Cloud County. The Thunderbirds gave the Dragons their first loss of the season after starting the 2022-23 season 7-0. The Blue Dragons lost 90-75 on November 19 in Concordia. Cloud County out-shot the Blue Dragons 65.4 percent to 34.2 percent. The Thunderbirds dominated the first half, outscoring Hutchinson 46-32 in the opening 20 minutes.

Cloud County is one of the more surprising teams in the KJCCC this season. Picked ninth in the KJCCC preseason coaches' poll, the Thunderbirds have already won 12 games this season for first-year coach Devon Kastrup. Cloud is 8-5 in the league and is tied for fourth in the conference.

The Thunderbirds withstood a Northwest Tech upset bid on Thursday, earning a 60-57 victory in Goodland. Cloud County trailed by 10 points at halftime, but outscored Northwest Tech 33-20 in the second half.

Sunday's game features the Jayhawk Conference's No. 1 and NJCAA's No. 2 scoring offense in the Blue Dragons, who are averaging 102.6 points per game. Cloud County is the KJCCC's No. 1 scoring defensive team and the 22nd best defensive team in the NJCAA allowing 64.1 points per game. The Dragons have scored 100 or more points 10 times this season. Cloud County has allowed 70 or less 15 times.