By Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information
The No. 7-seeded Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team scored the first 11 points of its NJCAA Division I National Men’s Basketball Tournament matchup with old rival Moberly Area and led wire to wire on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.
Sophomore Akbar Hoffman scored a career-high 29 points and 2016 Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year Bashir Ahmed posted his 14th double-double of the season in an 84-74 victory over the Greyhounds.
The Blue Dragons (30-4) advance to the national quarterfinals for the second-straight season and 13th time in program history. Hutchinson will meet second-seeded and defending national champion Northwest Florida State (27-5) at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the first game of the evening session.
The Blue Dragons reach the 30-win plateau for the seventh time in team history.
Hutchinson opened the battle of the Nos. 1 and 4 all-time winningest men’s basketball teams in NJCAA history by opening leads of 11-0 and 17-4 and led 23-9 after a Samajae Haynes-Jones 3-pointer with 11:56 remaining in the first half.
From that point, the 23rd-seeded Greyhounds made several runs and the Blue Dragons didn’t relent. The Greyhounds cut within five twice in the first half, but Jawan Emery’s 12-foot baseline jumper as the first-half buzzer sounded gave HCC a 46-35 halftime lead.
A 3-pointer by Rashad Lidnsey with 13:05 remaining in the second half drew the Greyhounds within 57-53. The Dragons went to work on the offensive boards in the second half and scored 14 second-chance points and quickly pushed the lead back to double figures over the next two minutes.
From that point, Moberly pulled within seven points three times, but a Keanu Pinder dunk with 7:24 remaining slammed the door on any Greyhound comeback.
Hoffman hit 10 of 20 shot attempts and scored a career-high 29 points with four assists to lead the Blue Dragons. Hoffman became the 20th player in HCC men’s basketball history to reach 900 career points.
Ahmed had 22 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Ahmed knocked down 11 of 13 free throws and he grabbed five offensive boards to help his 12-point second half.
Pinder went 5 of 7 shooting and finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Shakur Juiston had seven points and 12 rebounds with three assists and two blocked shots. Haynes-Jones finished with eight points.
After shooting better than 51 percent in the first half, the Blue Dragons settled at 45.3 percent (29 of 64), hitting 6 of 18 from 3-point range and 20 of 27 from the free-throw line.
HCC out-rebounded Moberly 46-33, turning 22 offensive rebounds into a 23-11 advantage in second-chance points.
Defensively, the Blue Dragons held Moberly to 38.3 percent overall from the floor (23 of 60). The Greyhounds were 9 of 24 from 3-point range and 19 of 23 from the free-throw line.
The Dragons held Daniel Dzierzawski, who scored 30 points in Moberly’s opening-round win on Monday over Indian Hills, to four points on 1 of 18 shooing.
Chris Clark and Lidnsey each hit four 3-pointers for the Greyhounds. Clark finished with 20 points, Lidnsey and Cecil Williams had 18 points each.
HCC’s initial 11-0 run was started by a Pinder 3-pointer and closed with a Hoffman jumper with 17:21 to play in the opening half. Haynes-Jones scored in transition to go up 17-4 with 13:56 to play and a Haynes-Jones’ 3-pointer with 11:56 to go gave the Blue Dragons a 13-9 lead.
Moberly countered with a 14-5 run to pull within 28-23 with 7:12 to go after two Clark free throws. HCC then went on a quick 8-0 run with 3-pointers from Ahmed and Hoffman and an Ahmed dunk to rebuild a 36-23 lead with 5:55 to go.
Leading 44-35, Emery made the third of three huge hustle plays for the Dragons by chasing down a missed Hoffman shot attempt and burying a 12-foot baseline jumper to give the Blue Dragons a 46-35 halftime lead.
HCC built its largest lead of the game at 50-35 after an Ahmed basket to start the second half. The Dragons then went into an offensive lull for the next five minutes as Moberly with four points with 14:49 to play after a Lidnsey trey cut the Dragon lead to 57-53.
Hutchinson had only four field goals over a stretch of 8-plus minutes, but went 17 of 23 from the free-throw line in the second half to maintain its advantage.
Leading 70-63, Pinder’s emphatic dunk with 7:24 to go started a six-point run and HCC’s lead never dipped back into single figures again.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 42-34 all-time in the NJCAA Tournament, including 13-6 in opening/second-round games. … Playing Moberly for the first time since 2006, the Blue Dragons now own a 15-14 all-time series advantage with a nine-game winning streak. … This was all-time Blue Dragon victory No. 1,714. … The 2016 Blue Dragons are now seventh on HCC’s all-time wins list. … The 2016 Blue Dragons moves up to No. 2 in all-time free throws with 687. … Bashier Ahmed is now No. 10 in single season rebounds (531), No. 10 in single season points (684) and No. 2 in single-season free throws (214). … This was Ahmed’s 22nd career double-double. … Moberly is the 53rd different opponent the Blue Dragons have played in NJCAA Tournament history.
(By Steve Carpenter, Hutchinson Community College Sports Information Director)
Moberly vs Hutchinson
Hutchinson Head Coach and Players Quotes
Head coach Steve Eck
Opening statement…
“We knew Moberly was a good team. They have a very good coach that does a good job with them. Our game plan was to take away (Daniel Dzierzawski) from penetrating. He has been hot lately. I think he was averaging 20 plus points per game in the last seven games, and we held him to four points. Akbar Hoffman did a good job on him, but also the whole team defense. The post men pinched on him and we did a good job keeping him from penetrating. That was the key.”
On starting the game…
“Early starts are nice, but it was just 11 points, and I was hoping that it was not just a burst of energy that would die all of the sudden. We have been waiting since all of last year to get back to the national tournament. I know the Region 6 game we lost in the championship, but they knew that we already had a bid. It just was not the same team. I can feel that. I could sense that. I know my team. I got that vibes from my team that we are still going to the national tournament, but we are still going to play these teams anyways. I did not like that, but an 11-0 start is nice, keeping it is even better.”
On holding off Moberly’s second half runs…
“They got it to four points when (Chris Clark) hit that three. I felt like we got lazy guarding a little bit. We took a couple quick shots, and then we got back to what we were doing by being more patient and getting some stops. That is the key. We have to get stops. We kept Moberly from getting out and breaking.”
Bashir Ahmed
On attacking the basket…
“They were doing a good job every time I caught the ball outside on the wing. They were pinching in. I knew I had to penetrate and find my open teammates. Sometimes I would find an open gap and I would just drive to the basket.”
On motivation after losing to Neosho County…
“We lost to Neosho, and that was a tough loss for us. We just stayed motivated, came out here, and played hard today. I remember last year when we came into the tournament I felt like I did not play well enough. Today, even though I was struggling offensively, I just wanted to do anything to help my team.”
Akbar Hoffman
On making up for his performance against Neosho County…
“I would not say I made up because we still got more time to improve, keep working for this. We just got here. That is just the first game. We still have plenty more games to go.”
On guarding Daniel Dzierzawski …
“I just tried to play off of him. I tried to force him to the basket, and try to not put my hands on him. I wanted to play solid, stayed down in my stance, and just be ready for anything that he tries.”
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