BLUE DRAGONS FALL TO NO. 21 COWLEY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team was in position to earn a victory over a ranked opponent for the second time this week on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

But No. 21 Cowley shot 58.3 percent in the second half and held the Blue Dragons scoreless over the final 3:54 of the second half as Hutchinson fell 65-53 in a KJCCC matchup.

The Blue Dragons fell to 7-5 overall and 2-4 in the Jayhawk Conference. Hutchinson travels to play at Dodge City at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Cowley is now 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the KJCCC.

The Blue Dragons trailed Cowley 45-34 with 11:51 remaining in the second half. The Dragons rallied and pulled within one point on three different occasions, the final time at 54-53 after a Kyrell Shaw three-point play with 3:54 remaining in the second half. Cowley closed out the game with an 11-0 run to end the Dragon comeback bid.

Shaw was the only Blue Dragon to score in double figures, pouring in a game-high 26 points. Shaw was 8 of 16 shooting, going 2 of 8 from 3-point range and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Shaw tied a career high with three steals.

Sophomore Lolo Rudolph was next in scoring for the Blue Dragons with seven points, three rebounds and two assists. Bobby Cannon and Anthony Alston had six points each.

The Blue Dragons shot 37.0 percent (17 of 46), hitting 4 of 17 from 3-point range and 15 of 20 from the free-throw line. The Dragons were out-rebounded 36-27 and had 15 turnovers.

Marcus Smith had 21 points and Leslie Owens Jr. finished with 20 points to lead Cowley. The Tigers finished 41.5 percent for the game (22 of 53), going 4 of 19 from 3-point range and 17 of 21 free throws. Cowley had 11 turnovers. After shooting 27.6 percent in the first half, Cowley improved to 58.3 percent (14 of 24) in the final 20 minutes.

The first half had three lead changes and six ties.

Trailing 9-7, the Dragons went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-9 lead when Rudolph completed a three-point play with 12:03 to play. The Dragons had two others three-point leads in the half and took a 21-17 lead after an Alston 3-pointer with 6:31 to go.

Cowley led 26-24 at halftime.

Trailing 32-29 with 16:17 to go in the second half, The Dragons gave up a 7-0 run and trailed 39-29 after a Chase Robinson 3-pointer with 14:50 remaining.

Trailing 47-36 with 10:25 to go, the Blue Dragon had their best offensive stretch of the game with an 11-1 run. Shaw hit two free throws with 6:39 to go to cut the Cowley lead to 48-47. Trailing 54-50, Shaw converted a three-point play to cut the Tiger led to 54-53 with 3:54 left.

GAME NOTES – The Dragons are now 91-50 all-time vs. Cowley, including 42-16 in games played in Hutchinson. … The Dragons held Cowley 22.2 points under their season scoring average. … The Dragons were held to less than 60 points for the third-straight game. … The Dragons are 5-4 at the Sports Arena this season. … The Dragons are 3-2 when outrebounded.