By DAREN DUNN
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — No. 13 Hutchinson (3-0) hit a record 18 triples in Tuesday night's opener against Fort Scott.
Saturday night in the arena, the Dragons made 16 threes, but started a chilly 1 of 7.
NEO (1-2) jumped out to an 11-2 lead on a Hutchinson high-octane offense that started the game on a 4:15 drought.
Aaron Potter's basket took the lid off the hoop as Hutchinson raced back to a 16-15 lead just five minutes later.
The Dragons led by as many as 14 in the first quarter, but took a 57-50 lead into the locker room.
Freshman Ty Frierson took over in the second half. After hitting just 1 of 4 three-pointers in the first half, Frierson nailed 5 of 8 in the second to lead Hutchinson with his career-high 25.
Frierson hit back-to-back threes and Jackson Leyba added another in just the first two minutes of the second frame.
After making five triples in the first half, Hutchinson dropped 11 in the last 20 minutes.
Four Dragons scored in double digits, led by Frierson's 25 (Aaron Franklin 20, Jackson Leyba 16 and Tony Green 12).
Franklin and Green both notched double-doubles as each pulled down 12 rebounds. The Dragons outrebounded NEO 63-39.
Hutchinson took 24 more shots from the field than NEO, but the Golden Norse stayed in the contest with 51.4% shooting.
Five NEO players scored in double digits. Three of them scored 22 or more.
Julian Mackey led NEO with 26.
Always Wright scored 25 and dished seven assists.
Jordan Johnson added 22, while Massai Graham had a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds). Kelvin Spruill added 13 points.
Frierson and Leyba both had career days for the Blue Dragons.
Frierson set career highs in points (25) and three-pointers made (6).
Leyba had a career-high in points (16) and rebounds (7).
Hutchinson tallied 35 second-chance points on 30 offensive rebounds.
Despite building a 20-point advantage with 7:35 remaining, Hutchinson found itself in a battle with 2:23 left.
Over the course of five minutes, NEO cut the lead to 106-101. Twenty-four seconds later, the Golden Norse had the Dragon lead down to four.
With 1:12 left, Graham fouled out of the contest and Hutchinson went up 112-104. His replacement, Spruill, fouled out 22 seconds after that and the Dragons took an eight-point lead.
Hutchinson made 23 of 32 free throws on the night, including a crucial 8 0f 8 in the last two minutes to hang on for the victory.
FINAL: Hutchinson 117 NEO 107
Hutchinson plays Labette at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 9. This game was originally scheduled for Nov. 8, but will instead be played Wednesday.
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