DRAGONS STUNNED BY NOC-ENID AT BARTON CLASSIC

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

GREAT BEND – The No. 15 Hutchinson Community College great start was overshadowed by NOC-Enid's second-half surge on Saturday at the Barton Classic.

The Blue Dragons led by 14 points at halftime and 16 points early in the second half only to seed Jordan England and the Jets rally to defeat Hutchinson 75-69 at the Barton Gym.

The Dragon close the non-conference schedule at 4-2 and will return to the Barton Gym to meet No. 2 Barton in the opening game of the Jayhawk Conference season at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Blue Dragons shot 51.5 percent (17 of 33) and held NOC-Enid to 24.2 percent in the first half as Hutchinson built a 38-24 lead at halftime. A D.J. Dudley tip-in with 19:09 to play in the second half gave the Dragons a game-high 16-point lead.

England led the Jet comeback scoring 24 of his game-high 40 points in the second half. England hit 7 of 11 total shots, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range and 8 of 8 from the foul line as the Jets outscored the Blue Dragons 51-31 in the second half.

Sophomore Isaiah Jackson hit 9 of 11 shots and finished with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds.

Freshman Bo Aldridge had 14 points and eight rebounds. Dudley closed with 12 points and eight rebounds. Jaquez Thornton had seven points, six rebounds and six assists.

The Blue Dragons shot only 31.3 percent in the second half to finished at 41.5 percent overall for the game (27 of 65). Hutchinson was 2 of 22 from 3-point range and 13 of 20 from the foul line. The Dragons had 12 turnovers.

NOC-Enid was 23 of 65 for the game (35.4 percent), going 9 of 29 from distance and 20 of 25 from the free-throw line. Enid had only six turnovers.

Oryne Stewart had 15 points for the Jets.

Three early England 3-pointers gave the Jets an 11-8 lead with 13:50 to play in the first half. A Bobby Cannon dunk with 12:01 to play gave the Dragons a 12-11 lead and was a part of an 8-0 Hutchinson run. The Dragons led 16-11 after a Cannon layup with 10:56 remaining.

Enid tied the game at 20-all after an England three-point play and led 29-22 after a Jackson tip-in with 3:20 to play in the half. The Dragons closed the first half on a 9-0 run over the final 2:20. A Kobe Smith tip-in start the run and Aldridge hit a jumper with 6 seconds to play in the half that gave Hutchinson a 38-24 lead.

Dudley's tip-in 51 seconds into the second half gave the Dragons a 40-24 lead. From that point, NOC-Enid slowly climbed back into the game.

Two Chris Williams free throws with 12:48 to play cut the deficit to single figures at 50-41. With the lead down to five, Aldridge scored with 9:07 left to give the Dragons a 52-45 led. NOC-Enid went on a 10-0 run and led 55-52 after two England free throws with 6:39 to play.

Two Aldridge free throws with 5:43 to play cut the Dragon deficit to 57-56, but the Jets took off on another 10-0 run. Nate Brown's dunk gave the Dragons 67-56 deficit. Hutchinson got the lead down to four points twice, but the Jets held on for that program's first win over Hutchinson in six games.

GAME NOTES – This was the first 40-point game allowed since Independence's Cory Curtis on November29, 2023. … The Dragons are now 5-1 all-time against NOC-Enid. … The 51 points allowed in the second half to Enid was an opponent single-half high this season.