HUTCHINSON, Kan. (BlueDragonSports.com) – The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team turned in one of its best defensive performances of the season on Saturday and earned a victory over a national Top 10 opponent.
The Blue Dragons won their third-straight game holding the No. 6-ranked Cowley Tigers to season lows for points in a half and for a game in a 70-62 victory at the Sports Arena.
Hutchinson improved to 9-5 overall and 5-3 in the KJCCC. The Blue Dragons travel to No. 5 Butler at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Dragons snapped Cowley’s 10-game win streak. The Tigers are now 13-2 overall and 8-1 in the KJCCC.
The Blue Dragons allowed an opponent season-low 20 points in the opening half, holding the Tigers to 9 of 29 overall shooting (31.0 percent), including 2 of 10 from 3-point range. Hutchinson’s defense keyed a 16-2 run over the final 7:33 of the first half to spur the Blue Dragons to a 34-20 lead at halftime. Shooting 49.3 percent for the season, the Tigers were held to 37.9 percent (25 of 66) overall shooting for the game by the Blue Dragons.
Sophomore Jaquez Thornton led the Blue Dragons with a game-high 23 points, going 13 of 14 from the free-throw line. Thornton is the first Blue Dragon to have 13 or more free throws in a single game since J.P. Ricks sank 14 free throws against Northwest Tech on February 14, 2024. Thornton was 5 of 10 shooting and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Freshman Bobby Cannon posted his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebound. He hit a pair of 3-pointers and had three blocked shots.
D.J. Dudley finished with seven points while Bo Aldridge had six points.
The Blue Dragons shot 38.8 percent for the game (19 of 49), including 5 of 17 from 3-point range and 27 of 38 from the foul line.
Marcus Whitlock Jr., the fifth-leading scorer in the KJCCC, had a team-high 12 points. Marcus Ziegler and Dallas Whitney had 11 points each. Shamarrie Hugie, the league’s fourth-leading scorer, was held to eight points.
The Blue Dragons forced 15 Tiger turnovers.
Trailing 5-2 early, the Dragons grabbed the lead on a Thornton floater in the paint and a Mikhail Abdul-Hamid layup for a 6-5 lead with 16:06 remaining. Leading 8-7, Cannon hit a 3-pointer and Thornton hit a 2-pointer for a 13-7 lead with 11:33 to play in the first half.
Khalil Arnold hit a 3-pointer with 8:37 remaining to give the Dragons an 18-13 lead, but the Tigers answered with a 5-0 run, knotting the score at 18-18 after a Whitlock 3-pointer with 7:33 remaining in the opening half.
Thornton’s layup with 6:44 remaining started what became a 16-2 Blue Dragon run to close the first half. Aldridge’s layup after a Tiger turnover capped a run of seven unanswered Dragon points for a 25-18 lead with 5:40 remaining in the half. A Hugie basket cut the Dragon lead to 25-20 with 4:31 remaining.
The Dragons held Cowley scoreless for the remainder of the first half and outscored the Tigers 9-0 to close the half. Cannon’s hook shot in the paint with 1:34 remaining gave the Blue Dragons a 34-20 lead, which was the halftime score.
Hutchinson held Cowley to 1 of 9 shooting with four turnovers in the final 7:33 of the first half.
Cowley immediately went on a 7-0 run to start the second half, trimming the Dragon halftime lead in half to 34-27 after an Avante Nichols bucket with 18:45 to go in the second half. The Blue Dragons responded with an 8-0 run to build a 42-27 lead after an Isaiah Jackson free throw with 16:15 to play in the half.
The Blue Dragon offense went through a 3-minute dry spell as Cowley pulled within 44-37 after an Emarquis Jones basket with 12:32. But Kobe Smith turned away that Tiger charge with a 3-pointer with 11:59 to go for a 47-37 lead. The Dragons turned away another Cowley advance with an Abdul-Hamid 3-pointer with 7:01 left for a 56-45 lead.
The Dragons led 58-45, but Cowley went on a 14-4 run to pull within 62-59 after a Whitlock basket with 2:41 remaining.
Hutchinson was held to only six total field goals in the second half on 20 shot attempts and were outscored 42-36 in the final 20 minutes. The Blue Dragons did their second-half damage at the free-throw line where they went 22 of 31. Thornton was 13 of 14 from the stripe in the second half to help the Dragons pull away.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 91-48 all-time against Cowley, going 42-15 in games played in Hutchinson and 27-10 at the Sports Arena. … The Dragons have won three straight over the Tigers. … This was all-time Blue Dragon win No. 1,932. … The Dragons are 6-2 at the Sports Arena this season and 1-1 vs. NJCAA-ranked opponents. … The Blue Dragons used their ninth different starting lineup on Saturday. … This was Jaquez Thornton‘s sixth 20-point game this season. … Bobby Cannon has five games with three or more blocked shots this season. … The 62 points allowed were a KJCCC season low and the second fewest allowed this season.
