Blue Dragon Buzzer Beater – Men’s Basketball Team Takes The Win Over Butler By 1

By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
X: @gmklein32

While the time ticks down on the game clock, the intensity and cheering in the Hutchinson Sports Arena is unreal. From fans shouting to players giving chirpy looks to the opposing team, the game has a more competitive edge. Fans from both sides watch eagerly as this rival game is hand-in-hand. 

Crossing halfcourt with 8 seconds left and down by 1 point, Hutchinson Community College’s Bo Aldridge sets himself up to drive down the left side of the lane. He looks for a shot to win the game for the Blue Dragons. While Aldridge maneuvers around his defender and pulls up for the jump shot, the ball bounces on the back of the rim and arches upward. A herd of players from both teams crash to the rim, looking for the rebound. 

But before anyone could grab the ball, D.J. Dudley flew in from seemingly nowhere, tipping the ball over the rim and into the basket. 

With Dudley’s tip-in basket, this gave the Blue Dragons the win, 64-63, over the Butler Grizzlies.

“(Winning against Butler) feels good,” Dudley said. “Especially being down the whole game, or most of the game, and then being down double digits in the later half of the game. Then luckily, get the tip back in to win the game. We fought it out, stayed together, and pulled it off.”

Although the game plan was drawn up and understood, the execution did not go exactly as planned.

“We wanted to get Bo Aldridge, downhill towards the basket with his left hand,” Blue Dragon coach Kyle Fisher said. “If he didn’t convert that shot, we had Isaiah Jackson diving in there to get the tip in. Just so happened that D.J. came in from the strong side corner and tipped it in.”

Despite the intense and somewhat chaotic last few minutes of the game, the Blue Dragons knew the first twenty minutes was not their best performance. Despite only shooting 28.6 percent and trailing Butler by 11 points at the half, Hutch kept the energy up coming out for the second half.

“We were just trying to tell each other, hey, don’t get down on each other even if you mess up,” Dudley said. “It’s a long game and there’s plenty of time left, so even though we were down double digits we just keep going and get back in the game.”

That is exactly what the Blue Dragons did, outscoring the Grizzlies 40-28 in the second half.

“In the second half, we knew we needed to be a lot more physical and a lot more energized on the defensive end,” Fisher said. “We made them shoot some tougher shots than they had in the first half. And in the second half, a lot of that was us making some shots, and that kind of energized our defense.” 

Making shots was not the only source of energy the Blue Dragons received throughout the game.  

“I think a big thing was the crowd,” Fisher said. “It was an absolutely electric atmosphere in the sports arena. Our guys really fed off of that energy and that got our defense going, which is how we could hang in there and get the win.”

The crowd showed up for the Blue Dragons in regards to the rivalry between Butler and Hutchinson, and also in support of the Blue Dragons’ annual Pink-Out Game.

“The rivalry game always adds some flavor,” Fisher said. “You know you’re going to play in front of a great crowd. The pink out made it even more special. Everybody’s been affected by somebody who’s had cancer so that we’re playing for cancer and anytime Butler and Hutch get together, whether it’s football, baseball, basketball, you name it, you’re laying it all out on the line. You know you’re going to get a great effort. It’s always a great competitive game that both communities take a lot of pride in.”

The Blue Dragons improve to 17-10 overall and move into a fourth-place tie in the Jayhawk Conference with Butler at 13-8. The men’s next matchup is against the Pratt Beavers at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Sports Arena.

Views: 10