by Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information

GARDEN CITY – For the sixth consecutive season, the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team walked off the court after the final regular-season game as Jayhawk Conference champions.

The No. 14-ranked Blue Dragons, on Monday night, overcame a slow offensive start to defeat Garden City 62-52 at the Perryman Athletic Complex in a battle for the 2016 conference championship. Had Garden City won, the Blue Dragons and Broncbusters would have shared the conference title.

Finishing the regular season 26-3, Hutchinson overcame a tumultuous summer to win the program’s ninth conference championship with a 16-3 record. Hutch also won conference titles in 1977, 1978, 1980, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. A conference ruling last summer forced the Dragons to vacate their 2015 title.

Just 10 days ago, a two-game losing streak put the Blue Dragons one game behind Garden City with to play. HCC closed out with a three-game win streak and overtook Garden City, which lost three in a row to end the regular season.

Hutchinson earns the No. 1overall seed for the Region VI Tournament, which opens on Thursday at home sites. The Blue Dragons have a bye in the opening round and will next play at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1 against an opponent to be determined. Pairings will be released on Wednesday.

The Blue Dragons missed 9 of their first 10 shots of the game and posted season lows of 16 total field goals, 30.8 percent field goal shooting and nine assists. But the Blue Dragons tied a season low with only six turnovers and limited the Broncbusters to 31.3 percent from the field.

Hutchinson led just 42-41 with 5:09 remaining in the game. After Kirea Rogers hit 1 of 2 free throws, Inja Butina got a steal and layup to go up 45-41 with 4:10 to play. Taylor Stahly hit the second of a two-shot foul with 3:44 to go for a 46-41 Dragon lead. That started a streak of 17 consecutive free throws by the Blue Dragons to close out the game. HCC didn’t have a field goal for the final 4 minutes, 10 seconds.

Rogers had her second-straight double-double and eighth of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Blue Dragons.

Butina finished with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Butina’s fifth assist tied Christasia Walter for the Blue Dragons’ single-season assist record with 207 assists for the season.

Taylor Stahly and Lakin Preisner had eight points each.

HCC hit just 16 of 52 total shots, going 3 of 14 from 3-point range and a season-high 27 of 36 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons had a 41-36 rebounding advantage.

HCC held the conference’s leading scorer, Shala Dobbins to 4 of 16 shooting from the field. She finished with 22 points, going 14 of 16 from the free-throw line.

Garden City was 15 of 48 shooting, going 3 of 12 from 3-point range and 19 of 25 from the free-throw line.

The game had 15 lead changes, four coming in the first quarter. Butina drilled a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to give Hutch a 10-8 lead after the Dragons hit only 4 of 16 shots in the opening period.

Stahly’s lone 3-pointer with 5:26 to play in the second quarter gave HCC a 16-15 lead. Rogers had six points in the second quarter. Her jumper with 3 seconds to play gave Hutch a 24-20 halftime lead.

Garden City scored the first five points of the third quarter to start a run of eight lead changes in the third quarter. Tied at 31, Butina hit two free throws with 2:22 to play in the third quarter. After a defensive stop, Shayla DeGarmo hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game with a transition 3-pointer with 1:31 to play in the third for a 35-31 lead. HCC led 36-33 after three quarters.

Garden City cut the HCC lead to 1 three times in the fourth quarter. The Blue Dragons went six-straight trips to the foul line hitting just 1 of 2 free throws before closing the game with 17 consecutive made free throws. HCC went 20 of 26 from the free-throw line.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are 64-18 all-time vs. Garden City, including 27-13 in Garden City. … Two blocked shots by Kirea Rogers moved her to No. 2 on the freshman list and No. 8 on the single-season list with 39 blocks, which ties Blessing Uba (2011). … HCC is 8-2 in road games this season. … The 26 wins tie for ninth most in program history.

(HCC Sports Information)

by Steve Carpenter, HCC Sports Information

LIBERAL – The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team rallied from nine points down at halftime as freshman James Conley scored his only points of the game with 2.6 seconds remaining to lift the No. 11 Blue Dragons to an 87-85 victory over Seward County on Wednesday at the Greenhouse.

The Blue Dragons completed their sixth rally for a victory this season from at least a nine-point deficit. Now winners of eight consecutive games, Hutchinson improves to 24-3 overall and 13-3 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons remain tied with Neosho County atop the Jayhawk Conference standings.

The somewhat improbable victory was a milestone for Blue Dragon head coach Steve Eck, who moved past Hall of Fame coach Gene Keady for third place on the Blue Dragon all-time coaching wins list with 188 wins. Eck’s record at HCC is now 188-42. Gary Bargen is No. 2 on the Blue Dragon coaching list with 199 wins.

Hutchinson trailed 44-35 at halftime after the Saints scored the final six points of the half in the final 33 seconds of the period. Turnovers haunted HCC as the Saints turned 11 Dragon turnovers in the first half into 18 points. But the Blue Dragons once again showed their resiliency and outscored the Saints 22-13 over the first 6 minutes, 36 seconds of the second half to tie the game at 57 on a Samajae Haynes-Jones 3-pointer.

The comeback became more improbable when HCC had to do it without the services of leading scorer Bashir Ahmed, Keanu Pinder and Jawan Emery – and their combined 52 points and 22 rebounds – for the final 2:50 of the game after all three fouled out of the game.

Tied at 85, the Blue Dragons got a critical defensive stop and freshman Shakur Juiston pushed the ball up the floor and found Conley, who hit a short baseline jumper with 2.6 seconds left in the game. The Saints never got a final shot off as Juiston intercepted a pass on the final play.

Hutchinson was led by Ahmed, who posted his ninth double-double of the season with 32 points and 10 rebounds. Ahmed broke 30 points for the fourth time this season and sixth time in his career. He jumped past Corey Floyd (1988-90) and Joe Mitchell (2009-11) into eighth place on the Blue Dragon career scoring list with 1,151 points. Ahmed had five 3-point goals for the third time this season.

Haynes-Jones scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half. Haynes-Jones added a season-high eight rebounds and season-high-tying five assists. Pinder was HCC’s third double-figure scorer with 12 points and nine rebounds. Emery, Akbar Hoffman and Juiston had eight points each.

Hutchinson hit 26 of 71 overall shots (42.6 percent), hitting 7 of 21 from 3-point range and 28 of 36 from the free-throw line. The Dragons outscored Seward County 48-35, but turned the ball over 22 times.

Niem Stevenson was again unstoppable with 35 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Saints. Stevenson has scored 72 points in two games against the Blue Dragons this season. Delano Jones had 14 points and Charles Beauregard added 13 for Seward County.

The Saints shot 28 of 66 overall (42.4 percent) with 9 of 25 from 3-point range and 20 of 30 from the foul line.

Trailing 16-12, an Ahmed 3-pointer and Juiston inside hoop gave the Dragons a17-16 lead with 11:47 to play in the opening half. Stevenson immediately dropped a 3-pointer on the Saints’ next possession. Then back-to-back layups capped a 14-7 Saints run to lead 30-23 with 7:18 remaining in the first half.

The Saints pushed their margin to nine points at 36-27 after another Stevenson trey. Trailing 38-31, Pinder hit two free throws and then added a layup with 1:28 to go to cut the Seward lead to 38-35. Buckets by Jones and James Byrd and two free throws with 1.3 seconds left after a Blue Dragon foul by Mitchell Packard gave Seward County a 44-35 halftime lead.

HCC opened the second half with a quick 7-2 run to pull within 46-42 after a Hoffman basket with 17:34 remaining. HCC still trailed 63-58 with 11:59 to play when it exploded for a quick 10-0 run over the next 2 minutes, 48 seconds to lead 68-63 after an Haynes-Jones 3-pointer with 9:11 remaining.

Neither team led by more than four points after that. The Saints led 80-76 with 3:26 to go. Haynes-Jones hit two free throws with 2:15 to go to knot the game at 83. After a Dragon defensive stop, Haynes-Jones scored with 1:47 to go for a two-point HCC lead, but Stevenson scored with 1:37 left to tie the game at 85.

Each team missed chances to take the lead, which set up HCC’s final possession and Conley’s game winner.

Hutchinson plays host to Cloud County at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

GAME NOTES – This was HCC’s 100th meeting with Seward County. The Dragons have a 72-28 all-time series lead with their fourth-straight win over Seward County. … This was all-time win No. 1,708. … The 2015-16 Blue Dragons tie the 2013-14 team for third on the team blocked shots list with 185. … HCC is now 9-1 on the road and 7-1 when trailing at halftime. … This was Bashir Ahmed’s 17th career double-double. … James Conley tied a season high with three assists. … Akbar Hoffman tied a career high with five steals.

(HCC Sports Information)

by Steve Carpenter, HCC Sports Information

LIBERAL – The No. 7-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team saw an 11-point lead disappear in the final quarter and the Seward County Saints rallied to defeat the Blue Dragons 68-63 on Wednesday night at the Greenhouse.

Hutchinson had its 14-game winning streak snapped and it’s the first time that Seward County defeated the Blue Dragons on the court since 2009. The Blue Dragons fall to 24-2 and 14-2 in the Jayhawk Conference. With Garden City’s overtime win over Dodge City, the Blue Dragons’ league lead drops to one-half game. Seward County improves to 17-7 and 9-5.

The Blue Dragons led 55-44 after a Lakin Preisner steal and layup with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter. HCC shot 53.5 percent through three quarters and led 57-50 heading into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter wound up tying for the lowest single quarter this season for Hutchinson as the Saints outscored the Blue Dragons 18-6. HCC was 3 of 15 shooting with five turnovers in the quarter and the Dragons went scoreless for 7 minutes, 3 seconds. The Saints went on a 10-0 run over that span, taking the lead for good on a Daniela Galindo layup with 2:06 to play.

Freshman Kirea Rogers posted her sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She also had three steals.

Sophomore Mandy Madden finished with 10 points and five boards. Preisner and freshman Inja Butina had nine points each. Freshman Taylor Stahly closed with eight points.

Hutchinson closed the game shooting 44.8 percent (26 of 58), going 4 of 16 from 3-point range and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line. The Dragons out-rebounded Seward County 39-32, but committed 15 turnovers.

Tiani White scored 18 points to lead Seward County. Galindo had 15 points, while Axelle Bernard and Joanna Grymek had 10 points each. The Saints shot 44.6 percent (25 of 56), hitting 5 of 19 from 3-point range and 13 of 21 from the free-throw line. The Saints had 13 turnovers.

Seward County had an early 12-8 lead, but the Dragons went on an 8-0 run to lead 16-12 after a Kyla Williams bucket with 2:31 to play in the first quarter. Seward County then scored five straight to lead 17-16, but HCC closed the quarter with a Butina layup and a Madden baseline jumper with 3 seconds to play which gave HCC a 20-17 lead after one quarter.

The first half featured eight lead changes in the first 13:40. Rogers scored with 3:40 to play in the second quarter which gave HCC a 30-29 lead. Stahly and Preisner had 3-pointers in the final 1:05 of the period to give the Blue Dragons a 39-34 lead at halftime. The Blue Dragons shot 53.3 percent in the opening half (16 of 30).

HCC’s first points of the third quarter was a Butina 3-pointer with 8:53 remaining, which pushed the lead to 42-34. After the Saints pulled within 50-44, Stahly knocked down a 3-poitner and then Preisner had a steal and layup with 3:32 to play to build a 55-44 lead. White scored five straight for the Saints, but Rogers scored with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Dragons 57-50 lead entering the final quarter.

White wound up scoring 11 straight Seward County points, the final bucket of that run was a layup with 7:28 remaining. Madden countered with an inside bucket with 7:16 remaining for a 61-56 HCC lead. Those were Hutchinson’s last points for the next 7 minutes, 3 seconds.

The Saints scored 10-straight points to build a 66-61 lead with 20 seconds remaining. The Dragons had a chance with 12 seconds to go when Madden scored and was fouled to cut the lead to three. She didn’t make the free throw, but Seward County missed a pair of free throws on the other when with 10 seconds left. The Dragons couldn’t get a 3-pointer to final on their last possession.

The Blue Dragons play host to Cloud County at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

GAME NOTES – HCC surrendered its largest lead of the season in a loss. … The Blue Dragons are now 22-1 when leading a game after three quarters. … The all-time series is tied at 42-42, but the Dragons trail 16-23 in Liberal. … With two 3-pointers, Taylor Stahly ties Brittany Dietz (2003) for fourth on the single-season 3-point list with 90. … Kirea Rogers moved up to No. 4 on the freshman free-throw list with 110. … Inja Butina moved past Kalani Purcell into second on the single-season assist list with 190. She is now in sole possession of ninth place on the season steals list with 83. … HCC’s six-point fourth quarter tied the first quarter against NEO for a season low. … The nine HCC free-throw attempts were a season low.

(HCC Sports Information)

by Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information

DODGE CITY – Sophomore Akbar Hoffman scored 15 of his career-high 26 points in a second-half rally that powered the No. 13 Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team to a huge Jayhawk Conference victory over Dodge City on Wednesday at the Dodge City Civic Center.

HCC trailed by four points at halftime, but dominated the second half in an 83-69 victory over Dodge City, splitting the season series with the Conquistadors. The Blue Dragons improve to 22-3 overall with their sixth-straight victory and 11-3 in the Jayhawk Conference. HCC defeated the Conquistadors for the ninth-straight time in Dodge City.

Hutchinson’s win combined with Neosho County’s loss at Pratt on Wednesday means the Blue Dragons and Panthers are tied for first place in the conference with five games to play. HCC has the direct tiebreaker over Neosho County.

The Blue Dragons struggled through another slow offensive start, shooting 41.4 percent with eight turnovers as Dodge City built a 33-29 lead at halftime, the seventh time this season HCC has trailed at intermission. The start of the second half was a much different story as HCC outscored Dodge City 16-2 over the first 6:07 of the half to overtake the Conquistadors. HCC shot 62.1 percent in the final 20 minutes and outscored Dodge City 54-36.

Hoffman had a career-high 11 field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers for the game. In the second half, Hoffman hit 9 of 15 shots to lead the second-half surge. Hoffman added six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists to his performance.

Samajae Haynes-Jones racked up 18 points and six rebounds. He had a personal 10-point run in the middle stages of the second half.

Bashir Ahmed had 16 point, seven rebounds and a career-high six assists. Shakur Juiston scored 15 points with five rebounds off the bench.

With the absence of starting forward Keanu Pinder (injury), sophomore Moataz Aly scored four points and tied a career-high with seven blocked shots. It’s the second-straight game in the Dodge City Civic Center that Aly has had seven blocks.

The Blue Dragons finished at 51.7 percent shooting from the field (30 of 58). HCC hit 6 of 17 from 3-point range and knocked down 17 of 19 free throws. The Dragons had 17 turnovers and were outrebounded 36-35.

Lorenzo Dillard had 21 points to lead the Conquistadors. Josh Boutte has 18 points and 12 rebounds. Jeremy Treaudo had 10 points.

The Conquistadors shot 37.5 percent (24 of 64), going 6 of 20 from 3-point range and 15 of 23 from the free-throw line. Dodge City turned the ball over 14 times.

The first half featured nine lead changes and 11 ties with neither team building more than a four-point lead. Three different times the Conquistadors built a four-point lead. Trailing 18-14, HCC answered with a 6-0 run, capped by a Larry Dennis jumper that gave the Dragons a 20-18 lead with 6:25 to play.

Dodge City led 36-22 with 2:56 left, but the Dragons got a Haynes-Jones hoop and two Ahmed free throws to tie it at 53 seconds later. The Conquistadors then closed the half on a 7-3 run to lead 33-29 at halftime.

Trailing 34-33 early in the second quarter, the Blue Dragons took the lead for good on an Aly three-point play with 16:25 left for a 36-34 HCC lead. Back-to-back Haynes-Jones 3-pointers pushed the advantage to 45-35 with 13:53 to play, capping a 16-2 Hutch run.

After Haynes-Jones hit a pair of free throws with 12:31 left to cap his personal 10-point run, HC led 49-39. Dodge City scored seven straight to pull within 49-46. Hoffman and Ahmed sandwiched a Treaudo 3-pointer with treys of their own to push the margin to 55-45 with 9:28 remaining.

Leading 55-51, Juiston scored six-straight points for the Blue Dragons in a stretch of 45 seconds to immediately remain a double-figure lead at 61-51 with 8:14 to play. The lead when back up to 13 at 72-59 after a Haynes-Jones layup with 4:30 to go, but the Dragons had to withstand one more Conquistador run.

Six-straight Dodge City point pulled the Conqs within 72-65 with 3:10 remaining. Aly then hit 1 of 2 free throws to halt that advance and Hoffman converted a three-point play with 2:53 left to extend the HCC lead to 76-65. The Dragons closed the game on an 11-4 run. Hoffman scored eight of those points.

The Blue Dragons play host to Colby for Pink-Out Night at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

GAME NOTES – HCC is now 114-63 all-time against Dodge City, including 47-32 in Dodge City. … This was all-time win No. 1,706 for the Blue Dragons. … This was Steve Eck’s 186th win at Hutchinson, one victory shy of tying Gene Keady for third on the career coaching list. … With his seven blocks, Moataz Aly jumps into sixth place on the HCC career blocked shots list with 108. … The Dragons are 8-1 in road games, 6-1 when trailing at halftime, 10-1 when shooting 50 percent or better and 17-1 when scoring 80 or more points … This was the fourth-straight game HCC had held an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. … Samajae Haynes-Jones tied a season high with six rebounds. … HCC’s 54-point second half was the ninth 50-point half of the season.

(HCC Sports Information)

by Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information

DODGE CITY – Freshman Kyla Williams came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points and pace the seventh-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team to a 69-53 Jayhawk Conference victory over the Dodge City Conquistadors on Wednesday at the Dodge City Civic Center.

The victory over Dodge City was Hutchinson’s 13th-straight win, the 11th-longest win streak in team history. The Blue Dragons improve to 23-1 overall and maintain a one-game lead over Garden City in the Jayhawk West standings at 13-1. Dodge City falls to 16-8 and 6-7.

The Blue Dragons shot 50 percent for the 10th time this season and committed only eight turnovers against the Conquistadors. That helped a season-worst 10-rebound deficit as Dodge City had a 34-24 advantage on the boards.

Defensively, Hutchinson held the KJCCC’s No. 2 scoring offense to 36.5 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers. HCC had a decisive 23-5 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

Williams paced the Blue Dragons with an extra inside presence on both ends of the floor. Offensively, the freshman forward knocked down 7 of 12 shots and was 4 of 4 from the foul line in establishing a new career high. Defensively, she helped hold Dodge City Center Rachel Slattery to 10 points on 4 of 9 shooting and eight rebounds. Slattery leads the conference in field-goal percentage and rebounding.

Four Blue Dragons reached double figures against Dodge City.

Freshman Kirea Rogers finished with 14 points, five rebounds and a career-high-tying four blocked shots.

Inja Butina and Mandy Madden scored 10 points each. Butina, the conference leader in assists, dished out five and had five steals against the Conquistadors. Madden chipped in five rebounds.

The Blue Dragons were 25 of 50 shooting overall, hitting 3 of 8 from 3-point range and 16 of 19 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had 19 assists on 25 makes. Lakin Preisner had a season-high six assists.

Antania Newton scored 14 points to pace Dodge City. Talisha Presley hit three 3-pointers and had 12 points.

The Blue Dragons led wire to wire and answered all Dodge City challenged after opening an early 15-8 lead with 2:03 to play in the opening quarter.

Dodge City closed that gap to 15-12 with 1:31 to play, but HCC scored eight unanswered over the next 4 minutes, 49 seconds and led 23-12 with 7:02 to play in the half after two-straight Madden hoops. The Blue Dragons shot 52 percent in the opening half and led 36-24 at halftime.

Rogers scored the first points of the second half to push the lead to 14 points. Dodge City had an 11-5 run to pull within 43-35 after a Fastasia Johnson basket with 4:02 to play in the quarter. HCC’s defense pitched a shutout for the remainder of the quarter and scored 10 unanswered points to take a 53-35 lead after two Butina free throws with 20.8 seconds left in the quarter.

Two Williams’ free throws at the 4:30 mark of the final quarter pushed the HCC lead to a game-high 20 points with 4:13 to play. The Conquistadors managed to trim that to 11 points with 2;30 to play, but Williams rebuffed that Conq advantage with an inside bucket and Daisha Terry scored to up the lead to 15 at 65-50 with 1:24 to play in the game.

The Blue Dragons play host to Colby on Saturday for HCC’s fifth-annual Pink-Out Night.

GAME NOTES – HCC is now 62-27 vs. Dodge City, 30-13 in Dodge City. … Kirea Rogers became the sixth Blue Dragon freshman in history to reach 100 made free throws. She is also tied for sixth on the freshman blocked shots list with 30. … Inja Butina moves up to No. 2 on the freshman steals list and No. 10 on the season list with 81 steals. … The Blue Dragons are 7-1 in road games, 10-0 when shooting 50 percent or better and 4-1 when getting outrebounded this season. … This was HCC’s 18th game to hold an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. … Dodge City’s Talisha Presley is the 12th opponent to have three 3-pointers in a game vs. HCC this season. … The 24 rebounds and four offensive rebounds are both season lows for the Dragons. … HCC has 111 team blocked shots this season, which is seventh most in team history.

(HCC Sports Information)

by Steve Carpenter, HCC Sports Information

The No. 15-ranked Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team used a balanced offense and stingy defense to win their fifth-straight game on Monday night.

The Blue Dragons stayed within one game of first place in the Jayhawk Conference after an 83-64 victory over Garden City in HCC’s first appearance in the Sports Arena since Jan. 20.

The Blue Dragons improve to 21-3 overall and 10-3 in the Jayhawk Conference. With Neosho County’s win over Allen on Monday, the Panthers maintain their one-game lead over the Blue Dragons with six games to play. Hutchinson travels to Dodge City at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in what will be the Blue Dragons’ third game in five days.

Sophomore guard Akbar Hoffman led four Blue Dragons in double figures with 23 points, but it was a strong defensive effort that helped Hutchinson steadily create distance from the Broncbusters. Hutchinson held a third-straight opponent to less than 40 percent shooting at 30.0 percent (18 of 60). The Blue Dragons also forced 23 Garden City turnovers.

Hoffman scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. After Garden City cut an 11-point halftime lead to seven with 13 1/2 minutes to play in the second half, Hoffman hit a pair of guarded 3-pointers to spark an 18-4 run that blew the game open for the Blue Dragons. Hoffman was 9 of 20 shooting overall, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range.

Sophomore Bashir Ahmed had 16 points for the Blue Dragons. Shakur Juiston had 15 points and four assists.

Sophomore Keanu Pinder had his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Pinder was particularly aggressive in the first half with nine points, seven boards and three steals to help stake HCC to a 39-28 lead at intermission. Pinder had career highs of six assists and four steals.

The Blue Dragons were 26 of 64 shooting (40.6 percent), hitting 6 of 19 from 3-point range and 25 of 32 from the free-throw line. Garden City out-rebounded Hutchinson 46-40. The Dragons had 17 assists, 12 steals and eight blocked shots with 13 turnovers.

J.T. Bennett had 18 points to lead Garden City (14-10, 6-7). Josh Fleming had 12 points.

The Busters had an early 8-4 lead when Pinder and Hoffman knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to grab the lead. Pinder then completed a three-point play to cap a quick 9-0 run and build a 13-8 lead with 13:03 to go in the half.

An Ahmed 3-pointer pushed the Hutchinson lead to double figures for the first time at 29-18 with 5:28 to go. That started a run of nine-straight points by Ahmed. The Dragons built a 37-25 lead with 2:02 to play in the half. James McNeal had a three-point play for Garden City with 1:06 to play, but with time running out, Juiston grabbed a long rebound and popped a 14-footer to give the Dragons a 39-28 lead at halftime. HCC shot only 36.7 percent, but held Garden City to 30 percent.

Hutchinson led 49-35, but Garden City scored seven unanswered points to pull with 49-42 after an Aaron Ray basket with 13:24 to go and force HCC to call a timeout.

The Blue Dragons got a 3-pointer from Hoffman right out of the time out. Then Samajae Haynes-Jones connected on a three-point play to start a 12-2 run to build a 67-46 lead with 10:14 to go.

Hutchinson’s defense limited Garden City to only four made field goals in the final 10 minutes as the Blue Dragons were never seriously threatened in the second half.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons scored 23 points off turnovers against the Broncbusters. … This was all-time victory No. 1,705. … HCC is 129-47 all-time against Garden City, 71-9 in games played in Hutchinson and 58-7 at the Sports Arena. … HCC won its fourth-straight game over Garden City. … HCC head coach Steve Eck earned his 185th coaching win at Hutchinson, now three wins shy of moving past Gene Keady for third on the HCC coaching list. .. HCC is 14-2 at the Sports Arena. … The Dragons are 4-1 when out-rebounded this season. … Keanu Pinder now has seven career double-doubles. … Garden City tied an opponent season-low with three 3-pointers. Garden City is the fourth opponent to have 3s. … Shakur Juiston had a season-high-tying five free throws.

(HCC Sports Information)

by Steve Carpenter, HCC Sports Information

Freshman point guard Inja Butina put the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team on her back on Monday night and carried the Blue Dragons to sole possession of first place in the Jayhawk Conference.

Butina scored a career-high 28 points to lead the eighth-ranked Blue Dragons to a 77-70 victory over Garden City at the Sports Arena. Entering play on Monday the Blue Dragons and Broncbusters were tied for first place in the conference standings.

After winning its 12th-consecutive game on Monday, Hutchinson (22-1) is now 12-1 in league play. The Dragons lead Garden City by one game and Coffeyville by two games in the conference standings. Coffeyville lost at Barton on Monday night. The Blue Dragons have another short turnaround by traveling to Dodge City on Wednesday night.

Butina matched Kirea Rogers for the most points scored by a Blue Dragon this season with her 28-point effort. She hit 10 of 16 total shots, knocking down 3 of 6 from the 3-point line and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line. HCC’s freshman point guard dished out six more assists to move into a tie for seventh place with Alysse Barlow (2012) on HCC’s single-season assist list. She chipped in three steals and three rebounds.

Back-to-back Butina 3-pointers in the second quarter capped off a key 11-0 HCC run that saw the Blue Dragons extend a three-point to 14 at 38-24 with 4:18 to play in the second quarter.

Garden City whittled away at the Blue Dragons and finally made it a one possession game at 71-68 with 3:03 to play. HCC answered the challenge when freshman Taylor Stahly knocked home her fifth 3-pointer of the game that started a run of six unanswered points to put the Broncbusters away.

Rogers finished with 19 points on 7 of 11 free-throw shooting and eight rebounds. Stahly hit 5 of 10 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Lakin Preisner added nine points and five rebounds.

The Blue Dragons finished the game at 48.1 percent shooting (25 of 52), hitting 9 of 18 3-pointers and 18 of 26 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons were out-rebounded for the fourth time this season, 36-29. HCC had 12 turnovers.

Jayhawk Conference scoring leader Shala Dobbins had 19 points, going 11 of 13 on the free-throw line. She was 4 of 11 shooting from the floor. DeRae Lewis had 18 points and seven rebounds.

The Broncbusters shot 24 of 54 (44.4 percent), hitting 5 of 16 from 3-point range, but just 1 of 6 in the second half. The Busters were 17 of 23 from the free-throw line. Garden City had 15 turnovers.

The Blue Dragons built an early 10-4 lead, but Garden City hit three 3-pointers in the opening quarter to keep things close. The Blue Dragons hit 9 of 14 shots in the first quarter. With 1 second remaining in the quarter, Butina found a cutting Rogers for a buzzer-beating basket that gave Hutchinson a 23-19 lead after one quarter.

Leading 27-24 early in the second, Preisner’s 3-pointer with 6:43 to go started a Blue Dragon 11-point run with all the points coming from Preisner and Butina. When Butina hit her second-straight trey, HCC’s lead ballooned to 38-24 with 4:18 to go in the half. Leading 40-31, Butina sprinted the length of the floor and completed a three-point play with 5 seconds to play in the half, but Garden City’s Dominque Maxwell went the other way and scored as the buzzer sounded and Hutch led 43-33 at halftime.

The Blue Dragons continually answered Garden City challenges in the second half. A Maxwell 3-pointer with 6:51 to play in the third cut the HCC lead to 50-43. Three-pointers by Butina and Stahly started a 10-2 run. A Rogers’ bucket with 4:43 to play gave Hutch a 60-45 lead.

A Dobbins three-point play with 8:45 to play in the fourth quarter again pulled Garden City within 64-60. Stahly again hit a big 3-pointer and with Butina’s free throws at the 7:22 mark, Hutch extended its lead back to 69-60.

The Busters got four-straight points from Lewis to make it a one-possession game with 3:03 to go at 71-68. Again the Hutch answer came from Stahly, who knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:35 to go. Butina hit 1 of 2 free throws and Rogers scored and Garden City went scoreless for 3 full minutes down the stretch to close out Hutchinson’s victory.

GAME NOTES – HCC has not lost a game played on the Sports Arena floor in the last 131 games. … HCC is now 63-18 all-time vs. Garden City, including 36-4 at the Sports Arena. … HCC head coach John Ontjes has 249 wins at Hutchinson. … Taylor Stahly is now in sole possession of second place on the freshman 3-point list with 80. She tied Heather Robben (2010) for fifth place on the single-season 3-point list. … Kirea Rogers moved into a tie for sixth with Amy Nudson (1993) and Kalani Purcell (2014) on the freshman free throw list with 96. … HCC is now 20-0 when leading after three quarters. … The Dragons are 3-1 when out-rebounded. … This was Taylor Stahly’s 10th game of five or more 3-point field goals.

(HCC Sports Information)

by Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information

Just 48 hours after they rallied from nine points down in the second half to defeat Barton and remain in the thick of the Jayhawk Conference title chase, the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team is back at it again Monday night.

The No. 15-ranked Blue Dragons play at the Sports Arena for the first time in 12 days, playing host to the Garden City Broncbusters at 7:30 p.m.

The game can be heard on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) beginning at 7:20 p.m. The game will also be videostreamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network at 7:20 p.m.

NO. 15 HUTCHINSON (20-3, 9-3) vs. GARDEN CITY (14-9, 6-6)
When: Monday, February 1, 2016
Where: Hutchinson Sports Arena, Hutchinson, KS
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9), KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 7:20 p.m.
Videostream: Blue Dragon Sports Network, 7:20 p.m. at www.bluedragonsports.com
Twitter: @bluedragonsport

HCC defeated Barton 72-64 on Saturday in Great Bend, outscoring the Cougars 31-14 over the final 10 minutes, 48 seconds. HCC trailed by five points at halftime and trailed 50-41 before mounting what turned out to be the fifth comeback by a margin of nine or more points to win a game this season.

Akbar Hoffman scored a game-high 20 points and had three significant steals to pace the Blue Dragons. Defensively, HCC held Barton to 35.6 percent overall shooting, the sixth-straight game to hold an opponent to less than 45 percent.

Garden City (14-9, 6-6) also played on Saturday and earned a narrow home 73-70 victory over Cloud County. The Broncbusters have won 3 of their last 4 games.

Hutchinson’s rally on Saturday was significant because it kept the Blue Dragons just a game off the pace of conference leader Neosho County. The Panthers had to rally to win at Coffeyville on Saturday.

Monday’s matchup with Garden City is the second in a key stretch of games for Hutchinson where it will play four games in a total of eight days. On Wednesday, HCC travels to Dodge City and on Saturday, Colby is at the Arena.

(HCC Sports Information)

by Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information

First place in the Jayhawk Conference will be on the line Monday night as the team teams tied for the top spot will square off.

No. 8 Hutchinson Community College (21-1) will meet Garden City (17-6) at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at the Sports Arena. Both teams are tied for first place in the Jayhawk Conference standings at 11-1.

The game can be heard live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM and FM (1450/98.5) beginning at 5:25 p.m. The game will also be videostreamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 5:25 p.m.

NO. 8 HUTCHINSON WOMEN (21-1, 11-1) vs. GARDEN CITY (17-6, 11-1)
When: Monday, February 1, 2016
Where: Hutchinson Sports Arena, Hutchinson, KS
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9), KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 5;25 p.m.
Videostream: Blue Dragon Sports Network, 5:25 p.m.
Twitter: @bluedragonsport

HCC rides an 11-game winning streak into Monday’s showdown after a 78-56 victory at Barton on Saturday. HCC shot better than 60 percent for the third time this season and held the Cougars to 30.5 percent. Kirea Rogers had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead four Blue Dragons in double figures.

Garden City did its park to set up Monday’s showdown with a tight 64-59 home win over Cloud County. Shala Dobbins, the Jayhawk Conference’s leading scorer scored 12 of her game-high 20 points from the free-throw line as the Broncbusters captured their eighth-consecutive victory.

Dobbins will be a unique defensive assignment for Hutchinson’s No. 2 defense. Dobbins is averaging 21.4 points per game (7th in the NJCAA) and has found her way to the free-throw line a lot. A 77.5 percent free-throw shooter, Dobbins gets to the foul line an average of 10.7 times per game.

Monday’s game will be the second in a stretch of four games in eight days for the Blue Dragons, who are at Dodge City Wednesday.

(HCC Sports Information)