GARDEN CITY, Kan. — Dadrevius "Dre" Weathers scored 25 of his game-high 27 points in the second half to help the No. 16-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team to a 96-78 win in the regular season finale on Wednesday at Conestoga Arena.
Hutchinson finishes the regular season 25-5 overall, 20-4 in the Jayhawk Conference.
The Blue Dragons and Broncbusters saw seven ties and 10 different lead changes in the first half. Garden City (18-12, 14-10) took the 39-37 lead into the halftime break.
Hutchinson flipped the switch in the second half and came out strong and firing on all cylinders. The Blue Dragons shot 62 percent (23-of-37) from the floor in the second half after shooting 40 percent (13-of-32) in the first half.
The Blue Dragons took advantage of many open looks, plus took care of the basketball, turning it over just twice in the second half and eight times total for the game.
Valentino Simon also helped spark the second half comeback, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the second. J.P. Ricks finished the game with 18 points, three rebounds, nine assists, three steals and most importantly no turnovers at the point guard position.
Garden City head coach Rusty Elmore picked up two technical fouls and was ejected with 9:59 remaining, as Hutch held a 68-64 lead. The Blue Dragons turned that into a five-point possession. Hutchinson never looked back from that point on and built a 21-point lead in the second half.
Hutchinson outscored the Broncbusters in the second half, 59-39.
The Broncbusters were led by Brody Robinson with 25 points and 10 assists, while Braxton Jones added 19 points.
Hutchinson is the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Region VI tournament and will host a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sports Arena. The opponent is to be determined, depending on the results from the first round games on Saturday.
You can find the complete Region VI bracket and information here.