HUTCHINSON, Kan. (BlueDragons.com) – The Kyle Fisher era opened in grand fashion as the No. 15-ranked Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team rolled in its 2024-25 season opener on Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.
Five players scored in double figures as the Blue Dragons shot 50.7 percent from the floor while holding Hesston College to 24.2 percent from the floor in Hutchinson’s 104-53 victory over the Larks.
The Blue Dragons (1-0) will play Southwestern Christian and Labette on Friday and Saturday, respectively, in the BSN Sports Tip-Off Classic at the Sports Arena. Game times each night are at 7:30 p.m. Hesston fell to 2-1.
Fisher became the 16th-straight Blue Dragon head coach to win in his debut on the Hutchinson bench. The Blue Dragons won their 17th-consecutive season and home opener.
Leading 18-15 with 11:16 remaining in the first half, the Blue Dragons went on a 14-0 run over the next 1 minute, 58 seconds to break the game open. The Dragons built a 49-25 lead by halftime, holding the Larks to 23.5 percent from the floor. The Dragons outscored Hesston 55-28 in the second half.
Every Blue Dragon player to suit up scored on Tuesday.
Bobby Cannon came off the bench to lead Hutchinson with 15 points and eight rebounds. Cannon was 7 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Three different players scored 14 points each. D.J. Dudley had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Bo Aldridge was 6 of 10 from the field with seven rebounds. Mikhail Abdul-Hamid finished with 14 points, hitting 4 of 5 from the 3-point line.
Khalil Arnold closed with 10 points. Jaquez Thornton finished with nine points and four rebounds. Isaiah Jackson had eight points.
Sophomore Kobe Smith, the lone returning player from last season, had seven points and career highs of seven assists and seven rebounds.
The Blue Dragons were 36 of 71 from the floor overall and hit 7 of 17 from the 3-point line. The Dragons sank 25 of 36 from the free-throw line. Hutchinson out-rebounded Hesston 58-31 and had 21 assists to only seven turnovers for the game.
Hesston was 16 of 62 from the floor, hitting 7 of 28 from distance and 16 of 23 from the free-throw line. The Dragons forced 12 Larks’ turnovers.
Henry Snyder had a team-high 11 points, while Terryon Stebbins finished with eight points and 10 rebounds to lead Hesston.
The Blue Dragons’ largest lead of the game was the final margin of victory of 51 points.
In addition to its 14-point scoring run in the first half, the Blue Dragons had a 17-0 run in the second half that ballooned a 21-point cushion into a 71-33 lead after Abdul-Hamid nailed a 3-pointer with 13:53 remaining in the second half.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 18-0 all-time against Hesston College. … This was the sixth time in series history the Blue Dragons broke the Century mark against the Larks. … The Blue Dragons are now 75-19 in season openers and 82-12 in home openers as Hutchinson opened its 94th season of basketball. … This was all-time win No. 1,924 for the NJCAA’s all-time leader in victories. … The Blue Dragons outscored Hesston 46-16 in points in the paint, 18-6 in fast-break points and 53-28 in points off the bench.
