Hutchinson CC Sports Information
El DORADO – Cecil Lee hit a huge 3-point shot with 1 second remaining on the shot clock and sparked the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team to a strong five 5 minutes and ultimately a fourth-straight victory.
The No. 19-ranked Blue Dragons clinched an opening-round bye for the upcoming Region VI Tournament after a 75-66 victory over the Grizzlies on Friday at the Power Plant. This game was postponed three different times by wintry weather.
The Blue Dragons improved to 22-6 overall and 16-6 in the KJCCC, holding onto second place in the league with two games to play. Hutchinson travels to Pratt at 7 p.m. on Monday in another make-up game before closing the regular season on Wednesday at Garden City.
Leading 61-59 with 5 1/2 minutes to play in the second half, a scramble for a loose ball after a missed shot went out of bounds last touched by Butler with 1 second remaining on the shot put. With Nate Goodlow inbounding on the baseline, Lee made a dart inside, then cut back to the right corner. Catching shooting with a hand in his face, Lee swished the clutch 3-pointer to give Hutchinson a 64-59 lead with 4:40 to play.
Lee's triple started a game-clinching 14-7 run over the final 4:40 to help the Blue Dragons complete a regular-season sweep of Butler (20-7, 14-7), which had its four-game win streak snapped.
Sophomore Angelo Stuart scored 19 points with 3 of 4 from 3-point range to lead the Blue Dragons. Stuart added five rebounds and three assists.
Kaimen Lennox was 6 of 6 from the free-throw line and finished with 15 points. Goodlow had 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Kobe Campbell had eight points.
The Blue Dragons shot 38.3 percent for the game (23 of 60), hitting 6 of 18 from 3-point range and 23 of 27 from the free-throw line. Rebounding was even at 38. The Dragons had 14 turnovers in the game.
Treylon Payne led Butler with 19 points, rebounds and four stelas. Eden Holt had 15 points and Isaiah Williams had 10 points. The Grizzlies shot 34.4 percent (21 of 61), going only 8 of 25 from the floor in the second half. The Grizzlies shot 3 of 20 from distance and 21 of 31 from the free-throw line.
Back-to-back Stuart 3-pointers gave the Blue Dragons an early 9-2 lead. The Grizzlies grabbed a 13-10 lead after an Isaac Ondekane layup with 11:30 to play. Tied at 16, Lennox scored for a Dragon lead at 18-16.
Two Lennox free throws boosted that Dragon lead to 23-18 with 6:19 left. Again the Grizzlies came back to take a 32-29 lead after a Marque English layup. Goodlow drained a 3-pointer to tie the game, but Holt his a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left in the half to give the Grizzlies a 35-32 lead at halftime.
The Blue Dragons missed their first four shots of the second half and Butler extended its lead to 39-32 after a Jaken Okon dunk with 18:58 to play. Five different times the Blue Dragons got the game back to a one-possession game, but the Grizzlies answered each challenge. A three-point play by Holt with 9:49 to play gave the Grizzlies a 55-49 lead.
From that point, though, the Blue Dragons held Butler to 3 of 15 shooting.
The Dragons went on a 10-0 run, tying the game at 55 on two Goodlow free throws and taking a 59-55 lead on a Campbell bucket with 7:03 to play.
Leading 61-59, Lee hit the crucial 3-pointer with 4:40 to go and Lennox backed that up with a jumper for a 66-59 lead with 3:57 to go. The lead grew to nine on a Jacquez Yow three-point play for a 69-60 lead with 2:22 to play. The Blue Dragons extended the lead to 11 twice in the final minutes.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 3-1 when trailing at halftime. … This was win No. 1,870 for the Blue Dragons. … The Dragons are now 127-67 all-time against Butler, including 49-41 in El Dorado. … The Dragons are 9-2 in road games this season. … This was only the fourth time this season that the Blue Dragons scored less than 80 points in a game. The Dragons are 3-1 in those games.