DRAGON DEFENSE LOCKS DOWN TO UPSET NO. 21 DODGE CITY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

DODGE CITY – The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team earned its second victory over a ranked opponent this season and did so with a tremendous defensive effort on Wednesday night.

The Blue Dragons held their fourth-straight opponent to less than 70 points, holding No. 21 Dodge City 16 points under its season scoring average as Hutchinson defeated the Conquistadors 82-66 at the Student Activities Center.

Hutchinson improved to 8-5 overall and is 3-4 in the conference. The Dragons will play host to Cloud County at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Sports Arena to close out the pre-holiday portion of the schedule. Dodge City is now 8-4 overall and 4-2 in the league.

Defensively, the Blue Dragons held Dodge City to 30 points in the first quarter and then Hutchinson outscored the Conquistadors 47-36 in the second half. The Dragons held Derrick Rivers, the KJCCC's leading scorer at 24.0 points per game to, to 12 points on 4 of 19 shooting.

Hutchinson has held four-straight opponents to less that 70 points, the first time that's happened since the 2019-20 season.

Offensively, the Dragons came out of their three-game slump with 48.4 percent shooting and a season-high-tying 10 3-pointers.

Sophomore Kyrell Shaw had his second double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 11 assists. Shaw was 7 of 15 shooting, going 2 of 6 from the 3-point line and 4 of 4 from the foul line. Shaw just missed a triple double with nine rebounds.

Five Blue Dragons scored in double figures.

Daleron Thomas had 15 points off the bench on 6 of 7 shooting. Asher Boney had a career-high three 3-pointers and had 12 points. Bobby Cannon had and Anthony Alston had 11 points, which tied a career high.

The Blue Dragons were 30 of 62 overall, hitting 10 of 20 from 3-point range and 12 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had 18 assists and 12 turnovers.

Jayvion Nurse led four Dodge City players in double figures with 14 points.

Dodge City was 26 of 63 overall, 5 of 23 from 3-point range and 9 of 11 from the foul line. The Conquistadors had 12 turnovers.

Early on there were eight lead changes and four ties. Dodge City led 10-5 after a Nurse bucket with 15:10 to go in the opening half. The Dragons scored six straight and took an 11-10 lead on a Thomas jumper with 13:59 to go.

Lolo Rudolph hit a 3-pointer with 9:35 to go for a 19-18 lead. The Blue Dragons went without a field goal for 6 minute, 1 second and trailed 28-23 with 3:17 remaining in the half.

Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 3:01 to play to snap that drought and pull the Dragons within 28-26. The Dragons closed the half on a 12-2 run and led 35-30 at halftime.

Leading 42-39, Alston hit a 3-pointer with 16:10 to play. That was the last time the game was separated by one possession. Thomson hit scored on back-to-back possessions to push the lead to double figures for the first time at 55-45 with 13:25 to play.

Leading 61-47, Chudier Dorar had a three-point play on a dunk and then hit a hook shot in the paint to up the Hutchinson lead to 66-47 with 8:4 9 remaining. Dodge City came out of a timeout with a 7-0 run, but Alston stopped that surge with a 3-pointer and Shaw sank back-to-back 3-pointers to regain a 75-56 lead with 4:55 remaining.

The Dragons' largest lead was 22 points at 82-60.

GAME NOTES – The Dragons are now 128-69 all-time against Dodge City, including 56-33 in Dodge City. … This was all-time Blue Dragon win No. 1,950. … The Dragons are 2-1 against ranked opponents this season. … Kyrell Shaw's 11 assists tied Lolo Rudolph for the team season high for assists this season. … The Dragons are 4-1 in road games this season. … This was the second time this season the Dragons have placed five players in double figures. The last time was against Metropolitan CC on November 4.