[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]
Photo courtesy of Joel Powers, HCC Sports Information
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Freshman Kai Mitchell‘s first career double-double was a needed spark that helped the No. 2 Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team to its 16th-consecutive victory to start the season on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.
Mitchell had 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Blue Dragons to an 80-63 Jayhawk Conference victory over the Independence Pirates. The victory improves the Blue Dragons to 16-0 overall and 12-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. Independence falls to 7-8 overall and 4-8 in the league.
Hutchinson’s 16-0 start matches the 2003-04 and 2015-16 Blue Dragons for the fifth-best start in program history.
A big part of winning No. 16 was Mitchell, who posted career highs in both points and rebounds. Mitchell was 6 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to lead the Blue Dragons offensively. His 17 rebounds tied for the sixth-most in a game in team history.
Mitchell had 15 points and nine rebounds in the first half as Hutch and Indy battled back and forth with five lead changes in the opening 20 minutes. Trailing 19-18, Mitchell scored with 7:38 left for the fifth lead change of the half. He had three more buckets, including a dunk to help Hutch build a lead as large as six points and ultimately lead 33-27 at halftime.
Hutchinson tied a season-low offensive output, matching the 80 points scored against Cloud County on Nov. 16. The Blue Dragons shot better than 50 percent for the 10th time this season at 51.9 percent (28 of 54). The Dragons were 2 of 10 from 3-point range and 22 of 30 from the free-throw line.
Five players scored in double figures. Sophomore Samajae Haynes-Jones and freshman J.J. Rhymes had 15 points each. Sophomore Shakur Juiston had 14 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore James Conley added 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Hutchinson had a 45-32 rebounding advantage.
DaJon Stretter had a game-high 20 points with nine rebounds and two assists to lead Independence. Shawntez Scroggins was next with 10 points.
The Pirates shot 38.1 percent (24 of 63), going 4 of 23 from 3-point range and 11 of 22 from the free-throw line.
Hutchinson got off to a slow start offensively as Independence held small and short-lived leads of 13-11 and 17-15. Five-straight points – two from Mitchell and three from Rhymes – helped the Dragons lead 23-19 with 6:27 to play in the half.
The Pirates cut the lead to one twice, the second time at 25-24 after a Jaylin Grant basket. Five unanswered Hutch points, four from Mitchell on a short basket and then a dunk gave Hutch a 30-24 lead with 43 seconds to play in the half. DeAnthony McCallum hit Indy’s only 3-pointer of the half on 12 attempts to half, Hutch’s lead. Conley came up with the answer with a 3-pointer with 5 seconds to play in the half which gave Hutch a 33-27 halftime lead.
A Rhymes’ layup with 12:27 to play in the second half gave Hutch a 47-36 lead. The Pirates got within seven points twice. Mitchell hit two free throws with 9:41 to play to stop the first Indy run and lead 53-44. The second run was stopped by a Juiston basket with 5:10 to go which gave Hutch a 66-57 lead.
From that point, the Dragons had to do most of the scoring from the free-throw line with only two field goals over the final 5 minutes of the game. Hutch’s defense held Independence to the same two field goals over the same stretch. Hutch was 14 of 16 from the line in the final 5 minutes, while Indy was 2 of 2.
The Blue Dragons outscored Independence 47-36 in the final 20 minutes shooting 57.7 percent (15 of 26). Indy shot 43.3 percent in the second half (13 of 30).