STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Colby Trojans were on a mission Saturday night at the Sports Arena and the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team wasn't able to deter them from accomplishing their task.
The Blue Dragons fell into an 18-point hole by halftime and never recovered as the No. 16-ranked Trojans clinched their first Jayhawk West championship in program history with a 76-63 win over the Blue Dragons.
Hutchinson falls to 20-8 overall and 11-8 in the Jayhawk West. Colby won its 11th-consecutive game and combined with Barton's loss to Seward County on Saturday, the Trojans clinched the Jayhawk West title, the first since Colby joined the KJCCC in the 1995-96 season.
The 24-4 Trojans also accomplished another feat by sweeping the season series with the Blue Dragons for the first time. Colby won the first meeting 83-79 on January 26 in Colby. Saturday's win at the Sports Arena was only the second by Colby over Hutchinson in 28 trips to the Sports Arena.
Colby scored 10 of the game's first 12 points over the first 3 minutes, 14 seconds. A D.J. Mitchell 3-pointer and Saquan Singleton drive to the hoop pulled Hutchinson within 12-7, but the Trojans countered with a run of 22-9 to lead 34-16 after a Matt McFarlane tip-in with 4:51 to play in the half. That lead grew to 42-21 after a Javion May jumper with 1:53 remaining.
Despite shooting 53.3 percent in the first half, the Blue Dragons committed 16 first-half turnovers and trailed 42-24 at halftime.
Freshman Clarence King scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Blue Dragons. King added five rebounds, four stelas and two assists while shooting 6 for 8 from the floor.
Singleton had 16 points with six rebounds and four assists. Mitchell moved into sole possession of eighth place on the Blue Dragon 3-point list with 110. He finished with 12 points. Majok Kuath was next with eight.
Hutchinson shot 55.8 percent for the game (24 of 43, going 2 of 10 from 3-point range and 13 of 19 from the foul line. The Blue Dragons were out-rebounded 36-24, allowing 19 offensive rebounds. The Blue Dragons also committed 26 turnovers that led to 30 Colby points.
Demarcus Sharp had a huge game for Colby with 23 points, 10 assists, eight steals and five rebounds. McFarlane had 20 points and Eddie Davis had 18 points for Colby. The Trojans shot 43.1 percent (31 of 72, hitting 2 of 14 from distance and 12 of 13 from the foul line. The Trojans committed 11 fewer turnovers than the Blue Dragons.
Hutchinson outscored Colby 39-34 in the second half. Hutchinson had the game in single figures with 3:41 left when King hit a pair of free throws to cut the Colby lead to 70-61. The Dragons missed two close-in shot attempts to cut the lead further, but Colby scored 6 of the game's final 8 points to close out the Blue Dragons.
Hutchinson travels to Great Bend on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Barton Cougars.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are 50-6 all-time against Colby, including 26-2 at the Sports Arena. … Hutchinson is 0-3 against nationally ranked teams this season. … The 26 turnovers tied for the second most this season for Hutchinson. … The 24 points in the first half were a season low for a half. … the Blue Dragons are now 11-5 when shooting better than 50 percent in a game and 20-6 when outshooting an opponent. … The Dragons are 4-7 when getting out-rebounded. … Hutch's 21-point deficit to Colby was the largest faced this season. … Singleton is now in seventh place on the Hutchinson career assist list with 243.