Courtesy of Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Coming off a tough home loss on Wednesday, the No. 14-ranked Hutchinson College men's basketball team looks for a return to the win column on Saturday against the Garden City Broncbusters.
The Blue Dragons (14-3, 9-2 Jayhawk Conference) and Broncbusters (11-6, 7-4) are set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
BLUE DRAGON GAME NOTES (PDF Format)
The game will be broadcast on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) beginning at 7:15 p.m. with Glen Grunwald (PBP) and Dan Naccarato (color) calling the action. The game will be steamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 7:15 p.m.
Saturday's game closes out the first trip through the Jayhawk Conference schedule.
As the first half of conference play concludes, the Blue Dragons are right in the thick of the Jayhawk title chase. Currently tied for third place with Butler at 9-2. The Blue Dragons trail conference co-leaders Barton and Cowley by a single game. Garden City and Cloud County are tied for fifth in the league, two games behind the Blue Dragons and Grizzlies.
Hutchinson will open the second half of conference play on Wednesday at the Sports Arena with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against Dodge City. That game concludes a rare three-game conference homestand for Hutchinson.
The Blue Dragons enter Saturday's game after a 102-80 loss to No. 6 Barton on Wednesday at the Sports Arena. Hutchinson couldn't recover from a 23-point first-half hole dug by a 6-minute, 26-second scoreless spell.
J.P. Ricks scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Blue Dragons against the Cougars.
Garden City has won 5 of its last 6 games, which includes a 109-72 victory over Dodge City on Wednesday. The Broncbusters shot a Jayhawk Conference-season high 57.7 percent and had three players score at least 20 points - Brody Robinson hit six 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points with 11 assists, Braxton Jones had 23 points and Jordan Frazier had 21 points.
Garden City has gone five-straight games with 10 or more 3-pointers, including a season-high 16 on Wednesday against Dodge City. The Busters are shooting 50 percent (64 of 128) from 3-point range over those five games and lead the Jayhawk with 9.9 made 3-pointers per game and are second in the KJCCC in 3-point efficiency at 35.0 percent.
The Busters rank third in the KJCCC in scoring at 82.8 points per game.
Saturday's meeting will be the 193rd all-time meeting between Hutchinson and Garden City in a series that started in 1929. The Blue Dragons lead the overall series 141-51. The 141 victories over Garden City are the second most for the Blue Dragons against a single opponent. The Dragons have 152 wins over Pratt.