HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball season came to an end with a 74-73 loss to Butler in the Region VI Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday at the Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons finished the season with a 19-12 record. Butler (22-10) will play Cowley in the semifinals Friday in Hays.
HutchCC trailed by eight with 2:07 remaining but rallied to cut the deficit to 71-70 with nine seconds left after two free throws by DJ Dudley.
Butler made one of two free throws to extend its lead to 72-70. Dudley then drove the length of the floor but lost control of the ball, dribbling it off his thigh and out of bounds with three seconds remaining. Russell Branch made both free throws to push Butler’s lead to 74-70. Bo Aldridge hit a 3-pointer as time expired, but the Blue Dragons fell one point short.
Aldridge led HutchCC with 23 points and eight rebounds. Dudley added 18 points, while Khalil Arnold scored 12 off the bench.