BLUE DRAGONS DROP LEAGUE BATTLE AT PRATT

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

PRATT – The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team got off to a great start on Wednesday night at Pratt, but couldn't sustain the momentum in the second half.

Leading by seven points at halftime, the Blue Dragons were outscored by 13 points in the second half and dropped a 71-65 decision to the Beavers at the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena.

Hutchinson is now 10-7 overall and 5-6 in the KJCCC heading into Saturday's 4 p.m. matchup against Fort Hays Tech Northwest at the Sports Arena. Pratt is now 5-12 overall and 2-10 in the KJCCC.

Sophomore Kyrell Shaw became the first Blue Dragon to score 30 or more points in three consecutive games since the 2013-14 season, scoring a game-high 34 points to lead Hutchinson. Shaw was 11 of 21 shooting, including 2 of 10 from 3-point range. He also had 10 or more free throws for a third-straight game, going 10 of 13 from the free-throw line.

Shaw had 18 points in the first half that helped the Blue Dragons build 28-12 lead with 6:58 to go in the first half and ultimately a 36-29 lead at halftime.

Pratt turned the game around in the second half, outscoring the Blue Dragons 24-8 in points in the paint and 42-29 in the second half to earn their first win over Hutchinson in five games.

No other Blue Dragon scored in double figures against Pratt. Lolo Rudolph had eight points, six assists and five rebounds. Asher Boney had seven points and five rebounds. Kordell Williams had six points.

The Blue Dragons shot 43.1 percent for the game (22 of 51), going 4 of 20 from 3-point range and 17 of 24 from the free-throw line. Rebounding was even at 35-35 and the Dragons had 16 turnovers.

Pratt shot 43.1 percent (28 of 65) from the floor going 3 of 21 from 3-point range and 12 of 22 from the foul line. The Beavers had only nine turnovers.

The Beavers outscored the Dragons 47-8 off the bench. Their top three scorers in the game all came off the bench – Scottie Guillory had 15 points, Muna Godswill had 12 points and Seydina Faye at 11 points.

The Blue Dragons jumped out to leads of 7-0, 16-7, 24-10 and 28-12 in the first 7 minutes, 2 seconds of the game. Pratt cut the lead to 10 at 28-18 with 3:49 left. A Shaw three-point play boosted the lead back to 32-18 with 3:04 to play in the opening half.

Leading 36-22, the Dragons went scoreless over the final 2:08 of the half and the Beavers sliced the Hutchinson lead in half, getting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Guillory to cut the Hutchinson lead to 36-29 at halftime.

Buckets by Boney and Shaw scored the first four points of the second half to give the Dragons a 40-29 lead. Leading 47-36, an 8-0 Pratt run saw the Hutchinson advantage dwindle to three points at 47-44 with 11:11 to go.

Lolo Rudolph hit a three-pointer and Shaw scored again inside to boost the Dragon lead to 52-46 with 8:51 to go. Pratt then went on a 9-0 run to take a 55-52 lead with 7:04 to play.

With Pratt leading 59-54, Shaw nailed a 3-pointer and added a transition layup to tie the game at 59-59 with 3:31 to go in regulation time.

Pratt answered with a 6-0 run to lead 65-59 with 1:35 to go. A Bobby Cannon free throw pulled the Dragons within 67-65 with 33 seconds left, but Pratt went 4 of 4 at the foul line in the final 24 seconds to clinch the victory.

GAME NOTES – The last Blue Dragon to score 30 or more points in three-straight games was Kadeem Allen in the 2013-14 season. … The Blue Dragons are 155-29 all-time vs. Prat, including 69-15 at Pratt. … The Dragons are now 9-2 this season when leading at halftime. … This was the fifth time this season the Blue Dragons didn't reach 70 points. … This was Kyrell Shaw's fourth 30-point game of the season and fifth of his career. … Bobby Cannon had a season-high three blocked shots and now has 86 for his career.