HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 16 Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team knocked off No. 11 Cowley College, 89-83 in the Region VI semifinal on Friday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons advance to the Region VI championship game for the 31st time in program history. Hutchinson will face No. 1 Barton on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Sports Arena.
Hutchinson built a comfortable 42-27 halftime lead thanks to a hot shooting performance. The Blue Dragons knocked down 16-of-30 shots in the first half, including six 3-pointers.
Cowley struggled to produce in the half, going just 8-of-31 and 1-of-8 from the 3-point line. Despite the struggles from the floor, the Tigers did knock down 10-of-12 free throw shots.
The Tigers turned up the defense in the second half, leading to multiple points off turnovers. Cowley finished with 30 points off of 20 Blue Dragon turnovers.
The Tigers knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second half and pull within 42-33.
Hutchinson responded by scoring the games next seven points to push the lead back to 49-33.
Cowley did not go away though, continuing to take advantage of Blue Dragon turnovers. The Tigers pulled within six with 1:56 to play after Hutchinson led by as many as 19.
The Tigers then pulled within three, 86-83 with 19 seconds remaining following a 3-pointer from Jeff Nwankwo.
J.P. Ricks was then fouled and knocked down 1-of-2 from the foul stripe to put Hutch up four. After a missed Cowley shot, Kam Thomas was fouled and delivered both free throws to put the Blue Dragons in front 89-83 with 2.1 seconds to play and put the game on ice.
Thomas finished with a team-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Kobe Smith scored 17 big points off the bench, 12 of which came in the second half. Kernan Bundy added 14 off the bench, while JP Ricks (12 points) and Russell Branch (10 points) each scored in double figures, as well.
Nwankwo led the Cowley offense with a game-high 27 points, while Corey Thomas had 17.
The Blue Dragons knocked down 30-of-40 free throw attempts compared to 23-of-34 for the Tigers.
With the win, the Blue Dragons should have secured at least an at-large bid in the upcoming NJCAA Tournament.