[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Leading the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team to its first national championship in 23 years, head coach Steve Eck was named the NJCAA Spalding Division I Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year on Monday.

Eck guided the 2016-17 Blue Dragons to the 2017 NJCAA men’s basketball national championship on March 26 after the Blue Dragons defeated Eastern Florida State 84-58 in front of a jam-packed Sports Arena.

The national championship was a culmination of a 35-2 season, in which the Blue Dragons won its second-straight Jayhawk Conference championship.

Completing his ninth season at Hutchinson, Eck is 231-46 with the Blue Dragons. That tenure includes 67-7 over the past two seasons, both of which reached the NJCAA Tournament championship game. Eck is now No. 2 in all-time coaching victories at Hutchinson.

In 2016, the Blue Dragons lost to Salt Lake in the national championship game. He is 553-96 in 19 seasons as a head coach at Butler, Redlands, Cowley and Hutchinson.

Eck has guided the Blue Dragons to the national tournament four times – 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 – two Region VI Tournament championships and two Jayhawk Conference championships.

With Samajae Haynes-Jones finishing his career in ninth place on the career scoring list, Eck’s players now own four spots in the Top 10 – Kadeem Allen, 3rd; Bashir Ahmed, 6th; Haynes-Jones, 9th; and Joe Mitchell 10th – and seven player in the Blue Dragon Top 25 career scorers.

Eck now has an NJCAA Division II national championship and Division I national runner-up with Redlands and a national runner-up and national championship with the Blue Dragons.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC Sports Information ]

Photo courtesy of HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, KAN. — After leading the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team to the 2017 NJCAA National Championship, sophomores Shakur Juiston and Samajae Haynes-Jones are receiving more individual honors.

Juiston was named to the first team of the 2017 NJCAA All-America teams, which were released on Thursday. Haynes-Jones was a second-team selection.

This is the second-straight year the Blue Dragons have had a player on the All-America teams – Bashir Ahmed in 2016 – and it’s only the second time in program history to have placed two players on the same All-America team. Juiston and Haynes-Jones join the 1994 duo of Roy “Pooh” Hairston and Ben Davis as Blue Dragons on the same All-America Team.

Juiston and Haynes-Jones become the 30th and 31st All-Americans in Blue Dragon history. Juiston is the 10th first-team selection and Haynes-Jones is the fifth second-team honoree. The 2017 duo are the sixth and seventh All-Americans at Hutchinson coached by Steve Eck.

Juiston and Haynes-Jones led the 2016-17 Blue Dragons to a 35-2 overall record, a second-straight Jayhawk Conference championship, a second-straight berth in the NJCAA Tournament and the Blue Dragons’ third national championship in team history, the first since 1994.

 

SHAKUR JUISTON

In March, Juiston was named the 2017 Jayhawk Conference and Region VI Player of the Year.

Juiston’s numbers were impressive to say the least as he averaged a double-double for the season at 17.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. Juiston shot 60.9 percent from the field and averaged 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game.

He had four double-doubles in the NJCAA Tournament. He had tournament highs of 88 points, 56 rebounds and averaged 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game over four games.

For the season, Juiston had 26 double-doubles and one triple-double.

Juiston broke the Blue Dragons’ single-game rebound record of 20 against Dodge City and then went on to break the program’s career rebounding record of 741.

Juiston’s 446 total rebounds this past season were third most in team history. His 12.1 boards per game average tied Ben Davis (1994) for sixth on the season list. His 67 blocks were seventh most in team season history.

Justin ranked fourth in Region VI in scoring, third in field-goal percentage, led the league in rebounding and tied for the conference lead in blocked shots.

 

SAMAJAE HAYNES-JONES

In addition to All-America honors, Haynes-Jones was first-team All-Jayhawk Conference and All-Region VI. He was named to the Region VI Tournament All-Tournament Team and also earned a spot on the NJCAA Tournament All-Tournament Team.

Haynes-Jones was second on the team in scoring in 2017 and was the Blue Dragons top 3-point shooter. She averaged 16.1 points per game, while shooting 46.4 percent overall and 42.0 percent from 3-point range. His 89.6 percent free-throw shooting mark is third best in Blue Dragon single-season history.

He finished his Blue Dragon career with 1,163 points, which is ninth on the Hutch career scoring list, 3rd on the made 3-point career list with 124 and second on the career free-throw percentage list at 86.1 percent.

Haynes-Jones also averaged this season 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He had 32 games in double figures with 11 of those at 20 or more points.

In the national tournament, Haynes-Jones averaged 16.3 points with a high of 26 points against St. Petersburg in the second round and 20 points against Odessa College in the quarterfinals.

 

NJCAA ALL-AMERICANS

First team

2017 – Shakur Juiston

2016 – Bashir Ahmed

2014 – Kadeem Allen

2013 – Kadeem Allen

2009 – Darius Johnson-Odom

2008 – Bobby Maze

2004 – Brandon “Pooh” Gary

1994 – Roy “Pooh” Hairston

1987 – Tyrone Jones

1973 – Rudy Jackson

 

Second team

2017 – Samajae Haynes-Jones

1994 – Ben Davis

1972 – Richard Morsden

1960 – Bill French

1958 – Merle Harris

 

Third team

1993 – Roy “Pooh” Hairston

1966 – Terry Stratman

1956 – Bob Harvey

 

Honorable mention

2015 – Bashir Ahmed

2011 – Joe Mitchell

1995 – Demetrius Alexander

1988 – William Davis

1984 – Ed Manuel

1974 – Charles Terry

1970 – Bob Moser

1969 – Ray Willis

1968 – Lee Allen

1967 – Mike Jones

1961 – Herb Stange

1956 – Al Schwartzkoft

1955 – Artie Schippers

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of Joel Powers, HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 2-ranked and Jayhawk Conference champion Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team hit a season a season-high 14 3-pointers on Thursday and advanced in the Region VI Tournament with a blowing victory of the Colby Trojans.

The Blue Dragons won their 28th consecutive game to advance to the Region VI Quarterfinals after a 101-37 opening-round victory over Colby at the Sports Arena. The second-seeded Blue Dragons (30-1) will play Barton in the Region VI quarterfinals at 3 p.m. on Monday at Hartman Arena in Park City.

Hutchinson hit the second-most 3-pointers in single-game history by hitting 14 of 23 from long range on Thursday. The Blue Dragons hit a team-record 16 treys last season against Neosho County, also at the Sports Arena.

A bulk of the 3-point shooting came from the trio of Taylor Stahly, Lakin Preisner and Inja Butina.

Stahly knocked down 4 of 7 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 18 points. Stahly now has 198 career 3-pointers, just six shy of breaking Brittany Dietz’s Blue Dragon and Jayhawk Conference record of 203.

Preisner had a season-high four 3-pointers in five attempts to finish with 14 points. Butina was 3 for 4 from distance to finish with 11 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

Kirea Rogers had a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Alicia Brown came off the bench to added 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting.

The Blue Dragons shot 57.6 percent overall (34 of 59) from the field and 19 of 23 from the free-throw line. The Dragons out-rebounded Colby 41-30

Defensively, Hutchinson held Colby (3-28) to 20.7 percent shooting (12 of 56). The Trojans were 2 of 20 from 3-point range and 11 of 13 from the foul line. Colby had 21 turnovers.

Janea Dennis had 11 points. Amari Barksdale had eight points.

The Blue Dragons blew the game open early with a 25-0 run in the first quarter. Brenna McClure scored with 3:24 to go to give Hutch a 28-3 lead. The Dragons hit 11 of 17 shots, while holding Colby to 2 of 11 from the field in a 35-5 opening quarter. The 35 points were the second most in a quarter this season.

Hutch hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter to outscored Colby 24-14 in the period to lead 59-19 at halftime.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Community College Athletic Department announced late Monday that advances sales for Thursday’s Region VI Women’s Basketball Tournament opening-round match between Hutchinson and Colby go on sale today at 8:30 a.m.

Fans who have season or Endowment tickets and who wish to remain in those seats for Thursdays’ game can purchase those seats from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (Tuesday, Feb. 28). Tickets can be purchased in advance only at the Blue Dragon Athletic Office, temporarily located in the old auditorium at Lockman Hall of the Hutch main campus.

All unsold tickets after that go on sale to the public beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

The No. 2-ranked and Jayhawk Conference champion Blue Dragons play host to No. 15 seeded Colby at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the Sports Arena.

To purchase tickets or need more information, call (620) 665-3594.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of Joel Powers, HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Twice this season, Hutchinson Community College sophomore forward Shakur Juiston tied the Blue Dragon single-game record for rebounds.

Monday night, in his final regular-season home game at the Sports Arena, Juiston grabbed a record 20 rebounds as the 2017 Jayhawk Conference champion Blue Dragons dominated Dodge City 104-66.

Now with nine consecutive wins, the Blue Dragons close the record season with a 29-1 overall record. Hutchinson was 25-1 in the league and won the Jayhawk by six games. The Blue Dragons will have a Region VI Tournament opening-round bye on Thursday and will play at 1 p.m. on Sunday in a quarterfinal matchup.

Juiston posted his 19th double-double of  the season with 17 points and his record 20 rebounds. Previously, Juiston shared the rebound record with Ken Bowman, who has 19 rebounds. Juiston eclipsed that mark on Monday night also move jumped in the No. 4 on the Blue Dragon career rebounding list with 643 career rebounds.

Samajae Haynes-Jones scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Blue Dragons. With three 3-pointers against the Conquistadors, Haynes-Jones now has 113 for his career, which is sixth on the career chart.

Nikola Scekic was the only over Blue Dragon to score in double figures with a career-high 14 points, 12 coming in the first half.

Devonte Bandoo had nine points, while J.J. Rhymes and Sal Nuhu added eight points each.

The Blue Dragons shot better than 50 percent for the 18th time this season. Hutch shot 52.1 percent (38 of 73), hitting 9 of 22 from 3-point range and 19 of 26 from the free-throw line. Hutch had a 52-41 rebounding advantage and dished out 24 assists. James Conley had seven rebounds.

The Conquistadors were limited to 31.0 percent shooting (22 of 71), going 5 of 23 from the free-throw line and 17 of 26 at the foul line. Despite getting one more offensive rebound, Hutchinson had a 23-11 advantage in points off turnovers.

Josh Boutte had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead Dodge City.

The Blue Dragons trailed 6-2 early, but went on a 16-0 run over the next four minutes to take charge of the game. Scekic had six points during the initial surge.

The Dragons didn’t let up taking a 16-point lead on a Kai Mitchell jumper with 11:04 to go in the half for a 27-11 lead. A Rhymes layup with 4:20 to go in the have pushed the lead to 21 at 44-23. The Dragons took a 56-29 lead at halftime after shooting 64.1 percent from the field (25 of 39). Dodge City was limited to 12 of 42 shooting (28.6 percent).

Dodge City scored the first four points of the second half, but Hutch countered with a tip-in by Juiston and a Haynes-Jones 3-pointer to lead 61-33 with 17:41 to play in the game. Hutchinson outscored Dodge city 48-37 in the second half.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of Joel Powers, HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It took every bit of a 27-game winning streak to do so, but the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team clinched the 2017 Jayhawk Conference championship on Monday night.

The No. 2-ranked Blue Dragons defeated Dodge City 101-44 at the Sports Arena to clinch a share of the 2017 league championship. The Blue Dragons share the title with No. 4-ranked Seward County, which earned its share of the championship with a decisive win over Garden City on Monday in Liberal.

Hutchinson completes the regular season at 29-1 overall and rides a 27-game winning streak into the postseason. Hutchinson and Seward County tied for the top Jayhawk Conference record at 25-1, with each team handing the other its only season loss.

Seward County was awarded the No. 1 overall seed for the upcoming Region VI Tournament after winning a coin toss – the final tiebreaker after all the other league tiebreakers weren’t sufficient to break the tie between the Blue Dragons and Saints. Seward will receive an opening-round bye on Thursday, while the Blue Dragons will now face Colby at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the opening round at the Sports Arena. The winner of that game will move on to Monday’s quarterfinals at Hartman Arena in Park City.

The Blue Dragons took care of business early on Monday opening a 31-6 lead after the first quarter. Hutch hit 13 of its first 17 shot attempts and shot 73.5 percent in the opening half.

Hutchinson broke a team single-game record with 34 total assists on 43 made baskets against Dodge City (4-26, 4-22). Inja Butina, the program’s single-game, season and career assist leader, had seven assists, while Lakin Preisner, Taylor Stahly and Brenna McClure had five assists each.

All five Blue Dragons starters scored in double figures and seven players scored 10 or more points on Monday. All 12 players scored in the game.

Stahly knocked down 5 of 9 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 15 points. She now has 194 career 3-pointers, 10 treys shy of breaking Brittany Dietz’s record of 203. Stahly moved past Seward County’s Alyson Uppendahl into second place on the Jayhawk Conference’s career 3-point list.

Bride Kennedy-Hopoate had 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Kyla Williams was a perfect 6 for 6 from the floor and finished with 12 points. Alicia Brown also finished with 12 points.

Preisner finished with 11 points, hitting 3 of 4 3-pointers. Butina and Kirea Rogers had 10 points each.

The Blue Dragons finished 43 of 74 from the field (58.1 percent). The Dragons sank a season high 11 3-pointers in 19 attempts. Hutchinson out-rebounded Dodge City 47-25. Hutch also had 16 steals led by Butina’s four steals.

Alexus Johnson had a game-high 25 points to lead Dodge City. The Conquistadors shot 24.0 percent (12 of 50), going 5 of 14 from 3-point range and 15 of 19 from the free-throw line. The Conquistadors had 27 turnovers.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of Joel Powers, HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Sophomore Shakur Juiston posted his 17th season double-double and tied the single-game record for rebounds for this second time this season as the No. 2-ranked Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team pulled away late to defeat the Allen Red Devils 82-62 on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.

The Jayhawk Conference champion Blue Dragons saw a 17-point second-half lead shrink to three points before outscoring Allen 23-11 in the final 7 minutes of the game to complete the season sweep of the Red Devils and extend their current winning streak to seven games.

Hutchinson travels to Independence at 6 p.m. on Saturday for its final regular-season road game before returning home on Monday to take on Dodge City on Sophomore Night at the Sports Arena.

For the second time this season, Juiston pulled down 19 rebounds, which tied for Hutch’s single-game record. He also had 19 boards at Garden City on February 8, which tied Ken Bowman’s record 19 rebounds against Pratt in 2008. Juiston now has six games of 15 or more rebounds.

Juiston finished with a game-high 21 points and he added six assists, three blocked shots and two steals.

Devonte Bandoo came off the bench to score 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting. Bandoo chipped in four assists and two steals.

James Conley contributed 14 points with five assists. Samajae Haynes-Jones finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

The Blue Dragons were 32 of 70 shooting (45.7 percent), although just 3 of 10 from 3-point range and 15 of 26 from the foul line. After being a minus-8 in rebounding in the first half, Hutch finished tied on the boards at 47 each. The Dragons amassed 21 assists to 12 turnovers.

Defensively, Hutchinson held Allen to 36.8 percent from the floor (28 of 76). The Devils were 3 of 15 from long range and 3 of 5 from the foul line. Allen committed 17 turnovers.

DaRon Mims finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Devils (13-15, 11-13). E. J. Garnes had 13 points.

A J.J. Rhymes three-point play with 13:54 remaining gave Hutchinson its first lead of the game at 10-9. The Dragons were able to extend the lead to double figures for the first time at the 8:12 mark with a Juiston dunk that made it 22-11. A Juiston layup bumped the lead to 27-11 with 6:07 left.

The Red Devils closed the half on a 17-8 run to pull within 35-28 by halftime. The Dragons scored just two points in the first three minutes of the first half and Allen pulled within 37-32 with 17:41 remaining. The game was just one possession when Quentin Blaue’s layup with 11:53 left cut the Hutch lead to 47-44.

A Juiston bucket with 11:05 to go stopped that Allen run, but the Devils remained within two possessions for the next several minutes.

Leading 59-51 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining the Blue Dragons finally broke the game open as a Juiston jumper with 7:07 to play sparked a 23-11 game-ending run. The Blue Dragons shot 52.8 percent in the second half as Hutch hit 7 of its final 11 shots of the game.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of Joel Powers, HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Community College women’s head basketball coach John Ontjes set the all-time program record for games coached as his 2017 Blue Dragons extended their winning streak to 25 games on Wednesday night with an impressive start.

Allen scored the first two points of the game and then Hutchinson tallied the next 35 as the No. 2-ranked Blue Dragons rolled by the Red Devils 77-31 at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons’ 25-game winning streak is now the fourth longest in program history, surpassing the 1977 team that reeled off 24-straight victories.

The Dragons improve to 27-1 overall and 23-1 in the Jayhawk, maintaining their share of first place in the conference with Seward County. The regular season is down to just two games with Hutchinson traveling to Independence at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Ontjes coached in his 342nd game at Hutchinson on Wednesday, which broke a tie with Tom Worthing for the most games coached in program history. Ontjes now has 281 victories.

Neither team scored for the first 2 minutes, 50 seconds until Allen’s Kamri Summons hit a shot inside. The Blue Dragons then proceeded to score 35 unanswered points, but that run started slowly. Leading only 3-2, Lakin Preisner‘s layup with 5:55 to play in the opening quarter was Hutchinson’s first field goal of the game. Hutch led 17-2 after one quarter.

Hutchinson held Allen scoreless for 13 minutes, 18 seconds of the first half as it bolted out to a 35-2 with 4:16 to play in the second quarter. The Blue Dragons held Allen to 2 of 16 shooting and forced 20 Red Devil turnovers in the first two quarters.

Hutchinson led 44-5 at halftime, the lowest point total allowed in a half all season and the first time since 2015 that the Dragons held an opponent to less than 10 points in a half – Central Methodist scored six points in the first half last season.

Kyla Williams came off the bench to tie her career high with a game-high 16 points. She grabbed five rebounds as well.

Only two other players scored in double figures for the Dragons. Taylor Stahly finished with 13 points, hitting 3 of 6 from 3-point range to bring her career total up to 187.

Kirea Rogers finished with 10 points, five rebounds and six steals.

Bride Kennedy-Hopoate finished with nine points and Lakin Preisner had eight points.

Inja Butina, the career and single-season record holder for assists, had her 10th career game of 10 or more assists with 11 on Wednesday. She also had six steals in the game.

The Blue Dragons finished 29 of 68 overall shooting (42.6 percent), going 8 of 21 from the 3-point range – six different players had a 3-pointer. Hutch was 11 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Dragons racked up 21 assists and 24 steals.

Defensively, the Blue Dragons limited Allen to 26.9 percent shooting (11 of 38) and forced 30 Red Devil turnovers. Allen was 2 of 11 from 3-point range and 7 of 15 from the foul line.