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Dragons Men Fall to No. 1 Barton in Overtime

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BOX SCORE

GREAT BEND, Kan. (BlueDragonSports.com) – The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team pushed No. 1 Barton to the limit in the Jayhawk Conference opener on Wednesday night at the Barton Gym.

The Blue Dragons scored the final five points of regulation to force overtime, but the Cougars hit a key 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in the extra session and completed a 94-89 victory over Hutchinson.

The Blue Dragons fell to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the KJCCC. The Blue Dragons stay on the road, heading to play at Fort Hays Tech Northwest at 4 p.m. CT Saturday in Goodland. Barton is now 6-0 and 1-0 in league play.

Barton led 82-77 after a Keandre Kindell 3-pointer with 1:15 to play in the second half. The Dragons rallied behind a Jaquez Thornton three-point play with 1:05 left and then tied the game after a Bo Aldridge bucket with 19 seconds left tied the game at 82-all.

The Dragons tied the game in overtime at 84-all after two Isaiah Jackson free throws with 3:48 left and tied the game again at 88-all after an Aldridge 3-pointer with 2:08 to play. Tied at 89-all, Barton got an offensive rebound and with the shot clock about to expire, Cougar Sebastian Muchitsch hit a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left. Aris Rodriguez sank two free throws with 19 seconds left for the final margin.

Aldridge led all scorers with 21 points on 8 of 18 shooting with a 3-pointer. He added five rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots.

Bobby Cannon hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 17 points and five rebounds. D.J. Dudley closed with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kobe Smith was 4 of 4 from 3-point range to score 15 points. Thornton finished with 10 points and a season-high nine assists.

The Blue Dragons shot 47.5 percent for the game (29 of 61), hitting 8 of 19 from 3-point range and 23 of 30 from the free-throw line. The Dragons were out-rebounded 37-31 and had 17 assists to nine turnovers.

Barton placed seven players in double figure led by Kindell’s 19 points. Muchitsch and Rodriguez had 16 points each.

The Cougars shot 47.8 percent from the floor (32 of 67). They were 8 of 21 from 3-point range and 22 of 25 from the foul line. Barton had only eight turnovers.

There were eight lead changes and four ties in the first half. Barton opened an early 17-8 lead after 8 minutes. The Dragons answered with a 10-0 run that was started by a Smith 3-pointer. A Cannon jumper closed the run and gave the Dragons an 18-17 lead with 9:16 remaining in the first half.

Barton countered with a 17-5 run over the next 5 minutes and took a 34-23 lead with 4:39 left in the half after two Fontaine Williams’ free throws. Building leads as large as 14 points in the first half, Barton shot 45.7 percent to Hutchinson’s 36.7 percent and the Dragons trailed 44-34 at halftime.

Trailing by 11 points with 16:46 to play, the Dragons climbed back into the game with a 7-0 run capped by a Smith 3-pointer to pull within 48-44 with 14:23 remaining. The Dragons got with two points four times over the next 5 minutes. A Cannon 3-pointer with 9:15 remaining close with 63-61.

Barton went on an 11-5 run to take a 74-66 lead, but the Dragons answered back with a 9-0 run. Cannon hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 to play to give the Dragons a 75-74 lead. The Cougars scored eight of the next 10 points to go up 82-77 with 1:15 to play, which set up Hutchinson’s 5-0 run to close the second half and force overtime.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are 1-1 in overtime this season. … The Dragons dropped their seventh in a row to Barton. … This was Jaquez Thornton‘s fourth career eight-plus assist game. … The Dragons are 91-36 all-time against Barton, including 4-3 in overtime games. … This was the third time this season the Dragons have had less than 10 turnovers. … This was Bo Aldridge’s second 20-point game this season. … The Blue Dragon bench outscored Barton’s 36-21.

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