Blue Dragons Men’s Basketball Fall Short To Rival in Region 6 Quarterfinals

By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
X: @gmklein32

It was another matchup between rivals. The Hutchinson Sports Arena was filled with blue and purple once again, but this time it meant moving on to the Region 6 Tournament semifinals. 

The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team played the Butler Grizzlies for the third time this season. During the regular season, the Blue Dragons pulled off two wins against the Grizzles by three points in El Dorado and by one point at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons were seeded at No. 4 in the regional tournament with Butler being seeded right below them at No. 5, and it was another close one, with Butler ending Hutchinson’s season with a 74-73 win.

The Blue Dragons were ready to compete with the Grizzlies, leading the first half for 12 minutes and 26 seconds. Butler made a scoring spurt late in the first half, and took the lead 31-26 with 4:10 left in the half.

The Blue Dragons were only down by five points, 35-30, at halftime. Butler came out in the second half attacking the rim and making shots. The Grizzlies quickly extended their lead to 12 points with 7:52 left in the second half.

“We knew we had to rebound and guard the basketball,” Blue Dragon coach Kyle Fisher said. “I think with our shorter rotation tonight, we got tired in the second half.”

The Blue Dragons were shooting much better in the second half. They were 50 percent or above from the field overall, 3-point line, and free-throw line.

“I think we were just moving a lot better,” sophomore DJ Dudley said. “We were moving a lot faster with pace, getting to the rim, and getting a lot more open shots while shooting with confidence.”

Despite their effectiveness on the offensive end, Butler outrebounded Hutch 18-13 in the second half and 42-30 overall for the night.

“We had guys playing 33, 35, 37 minutes,” Fisher said. “I think we got a little tired, and that affected our defense. When you can’t guard the ball against these guys, that puts them in position to rebound. We struggled on the glass and struggled to contain the ball.”

The Blue Dragons shot some late 3-pointers and a handful of free throws in an attempt to rally. However, it was not enough to surpass the Grizzlies because time was not on their side. 

“(I give) credit to our guys for battling and for being down seven and cutting it to two (points) with two minutes to go,” Fisher said.

While this wasn’t the way any team or coach wanted to end the season, Fisher had some perspective on the overall season for the Blue Dragons.

“I think we faced a lot of adversity,” Fisher said. “I hope our guys learn from that. I hope they’re stronger. When they move on from us, I hope they look back at the adversity that they went through, whether it was self-inflicted or whether it was injury or illness or whatever the case may be. I hope they learned that they overcame a lot this year and stuck together and played really hard to the very end.”

The Blue Dragons ended their season 19-12 overall and 15-9 in the KJCCC conference.

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