STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Winners in four of its last five games, the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team will hope to close out the 2019-20 regular season on a high note heading into the Region VI Tournament.
The Blue Dragons (21-8, 12-9 Jayhawk West) will close the regular season with the Seward County Saints (17-12, 10-10) at 7:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) at 7:20 p.m. with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (color) calling the action. The game will also be streamed live on the Blue Dragon Sports Network at 7:20 p.m.
Before the game, the Blue Dragons will honor their four sophomores - Saquan Singleton, D.J. Mitchell, Tyler Brown and Fred Odhiambo. It's also Hall of Fame Night as former Blue Dragon All-American Ben Davis (1994) will be inducted into the Quarterback Club Hall of Fame.
By night's end, the Blue Dragons could finish in a three-way tie for second place if Hutchinson defeats Seward County and Barton and Pratt both lose. The Blue Dragons haven't finished lower than since in the KJCCC since 2009.
The Blue Dragons cannot get the second seed out of the Jayhawk West because of tie-breakers, but the Blue Dragons have clinched a Region VI Tournament opening-round home game on Wednesday.
After three overtime losses this season, the Blue Dragons finally snapped that skid with a 96-91 overtime win at Barton on Wednesday. Josh Baker scored nine of his 18 points in overtime and D.J. Mitchell nailed a huge 3-pointer in the extra session to earn the victory. The Dragons trailed by four points with 3:48 remaining in overtime before rallying to win.
The Blue Dragons pulled off another rally earlier in this season in the first meeting with Seward County on February 1 in Liberal. The Saints led 48-38 with 16 minutes to play. That's when the Dragons went on a 25-7 run and set up a wild finish. Baker hit a 3-pointer with 1:19 left for a 68-67 lead. The Blue Dragon defense then made several huge defensive stops to preserve the victory.
Seward County comes into Saturday's game locked into fifth place in the Jayhawk West and will travel in the regional tournament opening round on Wednesday. The Saints come off one of their most complete performances of the season on Wednesday, traveling to Goodland to defeat Northwest Tech 122-69.
Saturday's meeting between Hutchinson and Seward County will be the 109th meeting in a series that started in 1970. The Blue Dragons lead the overall series 77-41, including 45-6 at the Sports Arena. The Saints won 87-79 in Hutchinson last season.