by Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information
GARDEN CITY – The seventh-ranked Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team needed two things to happen to win the program’s 35th Jayhawk Conference championship on Monday night.
The most important part came when the Blue Dragons out-gunned Garden City 93-82 at the Perryman Athletic Complex. The second part of the equation came from Iola where Allen upset Neosho County. The Blue Dragons and Panthers started the night tied for the Jayhawk Conference lead.
The Blue Dragons claim their first Jayhawk Conference title since 2004 and also punched their ticket to the 2016 NJCAA Tournament as a zone qualifier. Hutchinson will also receive a bye in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament, which begins on Thursday around the state. The Blue Dragons will play in the Region VI Tournament quarterfinals at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Hartman Arena.
Ahmed became the seventh Blue Dragon in history to score 1,200 career points with his 26-point, 12-rebound performance on Monday. Ahmed posted his 11th double-double of the season going 12 of 19 from the foul line.
Akbar Hoffman was a perfect 10 of 10 from the foul line and finished with 18 points. Juiston, Samajae Haynes-Jones and Keanu Pinder scored 10 points each.
Offensively, the Blue Dragons were 26 of 63 from the floor (41.3 percent), including a season-low 1 of 10 from 3-point range. The Dragons were 40 of 51 – the most free throws this season – from the line. The Dragons had a slim 43-42 rebounding advantage, but turned the ball over only 12 times.
Jones knocked down 3 of 4 3-pointers to lead Garden City with 19 points. James McNeal and Brandon Jones had 13 points each. The Busters were 27 of 72 shooting (37.5 percent), hitting 8 of 27 from long range and 22 of 27 from the free-throw line.
Hutchinson claimed its 11th-straight victory in somewhat strange fashion.
HCC led 17-7 in the first quarter, but Garden City stormed back with a 17-4 run to take a 24-21 lead after a Diontae Young 3-pointer with 9:29 to play in the half. The Dragons immediately remained the lead with a 9-0 run and took a 42-37 halftime lead on Larry Dennis’ tip-in as the buzzer sounded.
The Blue Dragons then opened the second half on a 13-2 run to build a 56-39 lead on a Bashir Ahmed three-point play. Garden City scored the game’s next nine points and drew as close as seven.
When Shakur Juiston scored with 8:07 to play, the Dragons led 71-60. From that point, HCC had just one more field goal in the game, but sank 31 free throws in the second half – a team record for free throws in one half – in 40 attempts. Twenty of Hutchinson’s last 22 points came at the free-throw line.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons now have a 130-47 all-time series advantage over Garden City, going 49-35 in Garden City. … This was HCC’s fifth-straight win over the Busters, the longest win streak over Garden City since nine-straight wins from 1995-99. … This was HCC’s all-time victory no. 1,711. … Bashir Ahmed now has 1,202 career points. … Keanu Pinder and Moataz Aly are now tied for sixth on the career blocked shots list with 1100. … The Dragons are 10-1 on the road this season. … Ahmed posted his 28th career double-double. … HCC now has 23 seasons with at least 26 victories in team history.
(HCC Sports Information)