HUTCHINSON, Kan. — D.J. Dudley has had some big moments as a Blue Dragon, but none bigger than his basket in the final seconds of a 64-63 win over Butler on Saturday at the Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons are now 17-10 overall, 13-8 in the Jayhawk Conference. Hutchinson moves in front of Butler for the No. 4 spot in the conference standings with three games to play.
With Butler (18-9, 13-8) in front 63-62, Hutchinson called a timeout with the ball in their frontcourt with 10 seconds to play. Bo Aldridge drove the ball into the lane and put up a shot with just over three seconds to play, Dudley crashed and used his right hand to tap it in with 1.5 seconds remaining.
Russell Branch tried a 70-foot desperation heave as time expired, but came up short, handing the Grizzlies their second loss to the Blue Dragons in the regular season.
Butler led 35-24 at halftime and led by as many as 14 with 4:13 to play in the first half.
Hutchinson held a few leads within the first four minutes of the game, and then would not hold another lead until Aldridge made a layup with 1:22 to play for a 62-60 lead. The Grizzlies would tie the game up with 1:08 to play.
Emeka Opurum, a 7-footer from Nigeria knocked down one of two free throw attempts with 15 seconds to play for the 63-62 lead.
Aldridge finished the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for the Blue Dragons. Bobby Cannon scored 14, DJ Dudley 11 and Khalil Arnold 10.
Butler was led by Opurum with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Hutchinson will host Pratt on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Sports Arena, while Butler will host Garden City at 7:30 p.m. in the Power Plant.