DODGE CITY, Kan. — Hutchinson High School lost to Derby High 56-40 at the Tournament of Champions.

The Panthers led 13-7 after one quarter.

Hutchinson was only outscored by two in the second quarter and trailed Derby 26-18 at halftime.

Derby’s pressure in the second half led to Salthawk turnovers.

The Panthers easily finished with a 56-40 victory.

Tate Webster led the Salthawks with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Joe Blake scored 10.

Coach Webster commented on the frustration of Friday night’s loss:

 

Hutchinson High plays its last game in the Tournament of Champions against Wichita North Saturday at noon.

DODGE CITY, Kan. — The Hutchinson High School Salthawks lost their first game in the Tournament of Champions to the Dodge City Demons 79-72 Thursday night.

Hutchinson kept up with Dodge in the first quarter and only trailed 12-11 after one.

The Demons went on an 11-3 run to end the first half and took a 40-32 advantage into the locker room.

The Salthawks struggled to score in the third. Dodge City took full advantage of the drought with a 62-48 lead.

Hutchinson closed the gap in the fourth, but it was too little too late as the Demons won 79-72.

Coach Ted Webster commented on the teams that Hutchinson will face in the weekend tournament:

 

Hutchinson High School faces Derby High School in Dodge City on Friday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ BLUE DRAGON SPORTS INFORMATION ]

HUTCHINSON, Kan. —  Garden City’s Russhard Cruickshank hit a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds left in regulation and the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team couldn’t come up with the answer on the other end and a 10-game winning streak against the Broncbusters was snapped.

The Broncbusters upset the No. 9 Blue Dragons 70-69 on Wednesday night at the Sports Arena, sending Hutchinson to its first home loss of the season.

Hutchinson drops to 15-3 overall and 6-3 in the Jayhawk West. Garden City improves to 8-10 overall and 3-6 in the Jayhawk West. The Blue Dragons play host to Pratt at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

This was Garden City’s first win over Hutchinson since Feb. 10, 2014 at Garden City. It was the Busters’ first win at the Sports Arena since 2010, a span of nine games.

Hutchinson trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half thanks to 38.7 percent shooting and seven turnovers. The Dragons trimmed that deficit to 35-28 at halftime.

The Blue Dragons trailed 57-51 with 7:16 to play in the second half before an 8-0 run sparked by two long D.J. Mitchell 3-pointers gave Hutch a 59-57 lead. Mitchell’s second trey, from beyond NBA distance, gave Hutch the lead with 5 minutes to play.

Trailing by two points with 2 minutes to play, Chris Giles hit his own long 3-pointer for a 66-65 Dragon lead. Then it became a free-throw contest. The Busters hit 7 of 8 from the line in the final 2 minutes to Hutch’s 3 of 4.

Saquan Singleton’s free throw with 35 seconds left gave Hutch a 69-68 lead, but final of 42 combined fouls went against the Blue Dragons with 12.2 seconds left and Cruickshank nailed both free throws to give Garden City a 70-69 lead.

Malique Jacobs drove into the lane on Hutch’s final possession, but couldn’t convert with 1.2 seconds left.

Garden City hit 19 of 26 free throws, while Hutchinson was 21 of 32. But the Blue Dragons had eight critical free-throw misses in the second half.

Five players scored in double figures led by Mitchell, who had 17 points, hitting 3 of 8 from 3-point range.

Giles knocked down 3 of 5 from distance and finished with 16 points.

Singleton finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Rheaquone Taylor had 11 points and nine rebounds. Jacobs finished with 10 points.

The Blue Dragons were 21 of 52 shooting (40.4 percent), including 6 of 14 from 3-point range. The Blue Dragons were out-rebounded 40-30. Those 30 rebounds were a season low for the Blue Dragons.

Jamir Thomas scored 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting with eight rebounds to lead Garden City. Tony Hopkins had 12 points while Cruickshank and Jakobi Pearson had 10 points each.

The Busters were 23 of 50 shooting (46.0) percent, including 5 of 17 from 3-point range.

The Blue Dragons improved to 42.9 percent shooting in the second half to outscore Garden City 41-35 in the period.

Coach Eck talked about the upsetting ending of Wednesday night’s game:

 

GAME NOTES – Hutch is now 135-48 all-time against Garden City, including 73-10 at the Sports Arena. The Blue Dragons are 7-1 at the Sports Arena this season. The Blue Dragons are now 4-3 when getting out-rebounded and 2-3 when getting out-shot in games this season.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ BLUE DRAGON SPORTS INFORMATION ]

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Sophomore Jada Mickens led four players in double figures and all 12 Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball players scored as the No. 4-ranked Blue Dragons earned victory No. 18 on Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons took advantage of 29 Garden City turnovers and rolled to an 87-56 Jayhawk West victory, avenging last year’s stunning home loss to the Broncbusters.

Hutchinson improves to 18-0 overall and 9-0 in the Jayhawk West. Hutch’s 18-0 start is the fifth-best start and the 18-game winning streak is the sixth-longest in program history. The Broncbusters drop to 9-9 overall and 4-5 in league play.

A strong inside game and tough defense propelled the Blue Dragons to their 17th double-digit victory of the season.

The inside quartet of Mickens, Dejanae Roebuck, Tijuana Kimbro and Makayla Johnson combined for 36 points and 20 rebounds as Hutch led in points in the paint 54-20.

Defensively, the Blue Dragons held Garden City to 37.3 percent shooting (19 of 51) and forced 29 Broncbuster turnovers. The Dragons held a 32-8 advantage in points off turnovers. The Blue Dragons out-rebounded Garden City 41-30, 17-6 on the offensive glass.

Mickens finished with 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting, including a 3-pointer, and eight rebounds.

Freshman guard Abby Ogle had a tremendous all-around game with 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting – the six field goals were a season high – four rebounds, four assists and a career-high-tying six steals.

Freshman guard Milan Schimmel hit a season-high three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Makayla Vannett went 3 of 6 from 3-point range and closed with 10 points. Roebuck had nine points and five assists. Kimbro finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

The Blue Dragons were 36 of 76 from the field (47.4 percent), going 8 of 23 from 3-point range and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had 24 total assists and just 12 turnovers and racked up 17 steals.

The Busters were 19 of 51 shooting overall, going 6-17 from 3-point range and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line. Garden City hit four 3-pointers in the opening quarter, but went 2 of 10 through the final three quarters.

Jaleah Bellany was 3 of 6 from 3-point range to lead Garden City with 13 points. Daz’Monique Johnson finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Blue Dragons survived through four early 3-pointers, three of which gave Garden City a 9-6 lead. The Dragons went on a 15-6 run that’s to nine Buster turnovers, over the remaining first period to lead 21-12 after one quarter.

The Dragons were 9 of 18 from the field in the second quarter and pulled away for a 41-26 lead at intermission.

Hutchinson will close out a very busy stretch with a Saturday home game against the upstart Pratt Beavers in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at the Sports Arena.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 69-19 overall against Garden City, including 38-5 at the Sports Arena. This was all-time victory No. 961 for the Blue Dragons. The Dragons are 9-0 at the Sports Arena this season. This was the 16th time this season to hold an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. Dejanae Roebuck moved into 24th place on the career scoring list with 726 points. This was the sixth time this season and third game in a row where the Blue Dragons have hit eight or more 3-pointers