[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ BLUE DRAGON SPORTS INFORMATION ]
With a career-high performance and buzzer-beating shot last week, Hutchinson Community College sophomore J.J. Rhymes was named the Jayhawk Conference’s Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Week on Tuesday.
The sophomore guard from Phoenix, Arizona, averaged 27.5 points per game in victories over Butler and Barton while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range.
Against Butler, Rhymes scored 41 points, 32 coming in the second half, as Hutchinson rallied from 26 points down in the first half, 25 early in the second half to win. Still trailing by 2 in the final seconds, Rhymes got a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to fall to complete an 82-21 comeback, the largest comeback in Blue Dragon history.
Rhymes’ 41-point effort tied for the fifth-most points scored in team history.
Against Barton, Rhymes was closely defended all night, but still scored 14 points and had five assists against the Cougars.
This is Rhymes’ first Jayhawk Conference Player of the Week award in his career. Rhymes is the second Blue Dragon to earn Player of the Week honors. Devonte Bandoo earned weekly honors on November 28.
Dragons stay at No. 6
[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ BLUE DRAGON SPORTS INFORMATION ]
The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team remained No. 6 in this week’s NJCAA Division I Men’s Rankings.
The Blue Dragons ran their current winning streak to seven games with victories over Butler and Barton last week. The Dragons are now 12-1 overall and are alone in first place in the Jayhawk Conference at 8-1.
The Blue Dragons have now been ranked for 36 consecutive polling periods and for the 67th time in the last 65 polling periods.
Hutchinson started the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the preseason rankings, but slipped to sixth in last week’s first regular-season rankings. The Dragons’ only blemish is an overtime loss at Cloud County on November 15. Since then, the Dragons devoured then-No. 14 Coffeyville, road wins at Neosho County, Garden City and Butler and a victory over now No. 25 Barton.
Northwest Florida State remains the unanimous selection as the No. 1 team in the rankings. Vincennes University and Indian Hills stayed put at Nos. 2 and 3. After No. 4 Tallahassee lost last week, Salt Lake moved to fourth and Eastern Florida State jumped over the Blue Dragons into fifth.
For the first time this season, three Jayhawk Conference teams are rankings at the same time. Along with Hutchinson, Coffeyville dropped to No. 17 and Barton is No. 25.
The Blue Dragons are currently off for the Christmas break. Hutchinson returns with a Jan. 3 game at Cowley and plays next at the Sports Arena on Jan. 6 against Allen.