Sophomore Mark Braden scored 16 of his career-high 25 points in the second half to pace the eighth-ranked Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team to a 98-57 victory over Hesston College on Tuesday night in the Sports Arena.
The victory moved Hutchinson to a 10-0 start in the 2011-12 season, which tied for the eighth-best start in program history. The Blue Dragons scored a season-high 98 points, despite getting off to a slow start.
The Blue Dragons trailed 16-8 with 14:19 to play in the opening half as Hesston hit three early 3-point goals. The Dragons finally overtook the Larks (4-6) with 6:50 remaining in the first half and led 42-33 at halftime.
“Basically, what we did on defense was we were patient,” HCC coach Steve Eck said. “That might sound strange, but early, we were trying to go for steals. Hesston has some nice ball handlers, and they’d go around us and kick it out for 3s.
“That’s a well-coached team and probably one of the smartest teams we’ll play this year.”
Despite Hesston scoring the first four points of the second half, the final 20 minutes belonged to the Blue Dragons, who hit 23 of 35 shots in the second half (65.7 percent) and held Hesston to 25.9 percent, outscoring 56-24 in the second half.
Over the final 13 minutes, 7 seconds of the game, HCC broke open a nine-point cushion with a 42-10 run.
Braden was 8 of 13 shooting, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range to lead the Dragons. In the second half, Braden was 6 of 9 and hit three 3-point goals. Braden’s 25 points were the most scored by any Dragon player this season.
The Blue Dragons had five players who scored in double figures. Anthony Thomas just missed a third-straight double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Alex Davis had 13 points, seven rebounds and a season- and team-high five blocked shots.
Freshman Jack Pyle had season highs of 12 points and four assists. Freshman Rozell Nunn had 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Blue Dragons’ depth eventually overwhelmed Hesston as the HCC bench produced 39 points and 10 different Dragon players scored in the game.
HCC finished shooting 58.2 percent overall (39 of 67), including 5 of 18 from 3-point range and 15 of 17 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons had a season-high nine blocked shots and out-rebounded Hesston 37-12. The Dragons committed 12 turnovers.
The Blue Dragons had the task of stopping high-scoring Hesston guard Mahlon Jones, who had back-to-back 30-point games over the weekend. Jones finished with 25 points on 9 of 17 shooting before fouling out of the game. Drew Emmert hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 10 points.
The Larks shot 32.1 percent from the game (18 of 56), including 6 of 19 from 3-point range and 15 of 22 from the foul line. After a hot start from long range, the Larks missed 6 of 7 second-half 3-point tries.
Hesston committed 24 turnovers in which HCC cashed in for 39 points.
“We just came out sluggish,” Nunn said. “The game wasn’t to our pace. Then we started pressing, and running and jumping (on defense).”
An Emmert 3-pointer and an Armond Patterson inside bucket gave the Larks a 16-8 lead with 14:19 to play in the first half. HCC erased that deficit when Davis dunked to give the Dragons a 21-20 lead with 9:10 remaining.
Hutchinson couldn’t shake the Larks in the first half. A Jones basket gave Hesston a 33-32 lead with 3:45 to play in the half, but that was Hesston’s last tally of the first 20 minutes. The Dragons closed the half on a 10-0 run to lead 42-33 at intermission.
Tom Richmond’s putback and Jones’ layup to start the second half helped Hesston cut the HCC lead to 42-37 and again, the Dragons couldn’t shake the Larks. A Jones basket with 13:28 to go cut the HCC lead to 56-47.
From there, the Dragons’ depth rolled over a tired bunch of Larks.
Three straight turnovers led to a short Pyle basket, a Braden 3-pointer and a Braden dunk to give Hutchinson a 63-47 lead with 12:02 to go. Hesston scored just three field goals in the last 12 minutes as the Blue Dragons outscored the Larks, 42-10 with several baskets coming in transition after the Dragon defense forced turnovers.
The Blue Dragons play host to State Fair Community College and Northeast Nebraska on Friday and Saturday in the Airport Steakhouse Classic.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons earned all-time victory No. 1,582. … The Dragons are 10-0 all time against Hesston College. … With sophomore Ryan Schultz missing Tuesday’s game with injury; Steve Eck used only his third different starting line-up this season with Jack Pyle making his first start. … This was the fifth time in 10 games this season that HCC shot better than 50 percent. … Freshman McCaulley Klusener scored the first points of his Blue Dragon career.
(By Steve Carpenter, HCC Sports Information Director)