Nov 20, 2024

🏀 Hutch men open KJCCC play at No. 1 Barton

Posted Nov 20, 2024 2:16 PM
Bobby Cannon and the Blue Dragon men's basketball team opens the KJCCC season on the road at No. 1 Barton, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Great Bend. (Steve Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)
Bobby Cannon and the Blue Dragon men's basketball team opens the KJCCC season on the road at No. 1 Barton, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Great Bend. (Steve Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL
Hutchinson (4-2, 0-0) at No. 1 Barton (5-0, 0-0)
When: Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Where: Barton Gym, Great Bend, KS
Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.
Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 7:15 p.m. - Sean Boston (PBP); Daren Dunn (Analyst)
Video: Cougar Sports Network (PPV)
X: @bluedragonsport

CLICK FOR FULL BLUE DRAGON GAME NOTES (PDF Format)

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

For the third-straight meeting, the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team will play Barton with the Cougars as the No. 1-ranked team in the NJCAA.

The Blue Dragons and Cougars will open the KJCCC season at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Barton Gym in Great Bend.

This is the first time Hutchinson and Barton open a conference season since the 1995-96 season.

The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) beginning at 7:15 p.m. with Sean Boston (play-by-play) and Daren Dunn (Analyst) calling the action. The game will be streamed live on the Cougar Sports Network, which is pay-per-view.

Last season, the Blue Dragons dropped three games to Barton, which included a pair of battles with the Cougars as the No. 1 team in the nation, the final game in the Region 6 Tournament championship game. In fact, the Blue Dragons have lost a series-record six games in a row to Barton.

The Blue Dragons fell out of the NJCAA Top 25 this week after going 4-2 in the non-conference season. The Dragons are still receiving votes after NOC-Enid upset the Blue Dragons 75-69 on Saturday in the final game of the Barton Classic in Great Bend. The Blue Dragon shot a season-low 41.5 percent against the Jets, including 2 of 22 from 3-point range, just 1 of 15 from distance in the second half.

Still, the Dragons have put up overall strong numbers in Kyle Fisher's first six games as Hutchinson's head coach. The Dragons are averaging 86.2 points per game offensively while shooting 48.8 percent from the field. The Dragons are shooting 35.6 percent from the 3-point line.

Hutchinson has been balanced offensively with Jaquez Thornton leading the team at 14.2 points per game while shooting 58.8 percent from the field. Five players are currently averaging in double figures for HutchCC. D.J. Dudley averages 11.3 points, Bo Aldridge is at 10.5 points, Mikhail Abdul-Hamid is at 10.2 points and Bobby Cannon is at 10.0 points per game.

Barton (5-0) is the defending NJCAA National champions and is riding 32-game winning streak.