Courtesy of HutchCC Athletics
No. 16 Hutchinson (25-5, 22-4) vs. Garden City (19-12, 14-10)
When: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Where: Hutchinson Sports Arena, Hutchinson, KS
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 7:15 p.m.
-Glen Grunwald (play-by-play)
-Dan Naccarato (color)X: @bluedragonsport
The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team opens the 2024 Region VI Tournament with a familiar opponent on Tuesday at the Sports Arena.
The third-seeded Blue Dragons (25-5) will meet No. 6-seed Garden City (19-12) in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Just six days ago the Blue Dragons and Broncbusters wrapped up the regular season in Garden City.
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 Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (color) calling the action. The Blue Dragon Sports Network will stream the game live at free beginning at 7:15 p.m.
The Blue Dragons will be playing in their 73rd Region VI Tournament and will be bidding for their 19th regional title, the first since 2015. The Blue Dragons have a record of 143-52 all-time in the Region VI Tournament. Hutchinson has a record of 45-11 in the Region VI Tournament quarterfinal round.
This will be the 16th all-time postseason meeting between Hutchinson and Garden City, the first since the 2016 quarterfinals. The Blue Dragons prevailed in that game against the Busters, 77-71. Hutchinson has a 12-3 all-time Region VI Tournament record against Garden City.
The NJCAA 16th-ranked Blue Dragons received an opening-round bye after finishing third in the Jayhawk Conference this season.
Paced by Thomas Tut’s 25 points and 17 rebounds, the Busters defeated Seward County 78-65 in Saturday’s opening round at Conestoga Arena. Charles Chukwu had 19 points, while Brody Robinson just missed a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Last Wednesday against Garden City, sophomore Dre Weathers scored 25 of his career-high 27 points in the second half to lead the Blue Dragons from a two-point halftime deficit to claim a 96-78 victory. The Blue Dragons outscored Garden City 59-39 in the second half.
J.P. Ricks had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Dragons, while Valentino Simon and Landon Wagler finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Robinson had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Garden City.
The Blue Dragons defeated Garden City 85-64 in the first meeting of the season on January 20 at the Sports Arena.
The Hutchinson-Garden City winner will play the Cowley-Northwest Tech quarterfinal winner in the Region VI Tournament semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.