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By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Sunday, January 20, 2008
COLBY – Sophomore Bobby Maze flirted with a
triple-double, tying a career high with 34 points to lead the Hutchinson
Community College men’s basketball team to its 10th-straight victory after a
94-90 Jayhawk Conference Western Division victory over the Colby Trojans on
Sunday at the Colby Community Building.
Maze was 12 of 18 shooting overall and 10 of
12 from the free-throw line. He had nine assists, seven rebounds and one
steal. This was Maze’s fourth game of 30 or more points and 11th game of 20
or more points. His two 34-points games – the other came against No. 7
Arkansas-Fort Smith – are the most for a Jayhawk West player and the
second-highest point total for any Region VI player this season.
In the first half alone, Maze had 18 points
on 8 of 10 shooting – he was a perfect 8 of 8 from inside 3-point range in
the opening 20 minutes.
“Bobby’s a competitor, a warrior,” HCC head
coach Ryan Swanson said. “He wants the ball in his hands for a reason. From
a percentage standpoint, he may not be at 90 percent and he may not have
made the one in Coffeyville, but when he gets on the line in that situation,
he's about a 95 percent foul shooter.”
The Blue Dragons (15-4 overall), now 5-0 in
the Jayhawk West for the first time since 1997, shot a season’s-best 59.0
percent for the game (26 of 61). In the first half alone, HCC shot 64.5
percent (20 of 31) in building a 44-32 halftime lead.
Three Blue Dragons scored in double figures.
Sophomore Ken Bowman finished with 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting and seven
rebounds. Redshirt freshman Antonio Weary added 15 points. Sophomore Lamar
Falley knocked down two huge 3-point goals and finished with eight points,
all coming in the second half.
Hutchinson finished 5 of 9 from 3-point range
and 17 of 24 from the free-throw line. HCC committed 18 turnovers and was
outrebounded for only the fourth time this season, 42-38.
HCC was decisively outrebounded on Colby’s
offensive glass. The Trojans had 20 offensive boards and outscored HCC 17-4
in second-chance points.
Forward Koance Davis scored the most points
of any Blue Dragon opponent this season with 30 points on 14 of 25 shooting.
Davis also hit two 3-point goals and had 13 rebounds. Guard Mike Boyd
finished with 19 points and seven assists. Guard Andrew Engel had 14 points
and 12 assists. Forward Everson also had a double-double with 13 points and
13 rebounds.
The Trojans (5-14, 2-4) shot 34 of 80 (42.5
percent) from the field, including 10 of 24 from 3-point range and 12 of 20
from the free-throw line. The Trojans had just 13 turnovers.
There were four lead changes and five ties in
the first 7 minutes, 20 seconds of the game. A Bowman bucket with 12 minutes
to play gave HCC a 15-13 lead and the Dragons maintained their lead
throughout the remainder of the half.
Leading 34-30, the Dragons closed the first
half on a 10-2 run over the final 2:30, a stretch which was the most
frenetic of any stretch of play this season. After a Sam Edwards steal and
wrap-around assist for a Dobrivoje Mavrak bucket, sophomore Abdul Herrera
followed a missed shot with a thunderous dunk for a 42-30 lead. After a
Lacerna dunk on Colby’s end, Maze closed the first half with a driving
jumper with 5 seconds to play to give Hutch a 44-32 halftime lead.
The Trojans made several runs at the Blue
Dragons in the second half, but HCC never relinquished the lead in the final
20 minutes.
Colby came out on fire, hitting 7 of its
first 8 shots en route to a 14-4 run over the first three minutes. David
scored eight points and Boyd dropped a pair of 3-pointers and the Trojans
pulled within 48-46 with 16:58 to play.
A Blake Bales 3-pointer with 13:50 to play
upped the Dragon lead to 10 again at 63-53, but seven straight by the
Trojans over the next 2 1/2 minutes saw the margin slip to 63-60 with 11:21
to play.
A small 7-2 run – a Falley trey, two Bowman
free throws and a Weary dunk – gave Hutch an 81-72 lead with 6:03 to go, but
Colby answered right back with an 8-0 run and trailed just 81-80 with 4:59
to play on a Davis bucket.
With an 85-84 lead at the 1:50 mark, the
Dragons survived the Colby upset bid with Maze scoring the final eight
points of the game, getting a conventional three-point play with 33 seconds
to play and two game-clinching charity tosses with 5 seconds to play for the
final margin of victory.
The Blue Dragons will play their next two
games at home, starting with Barton County at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
GAME NOTES
– This is the Blue Dragons’ longest winning streak since running off 16
consecutive wins in the 2003-04 season. Bobby Maze jumped two spots on the
HCC single-season assists list and is now ninth with 140. … Hutchinson is
now 3-1 in road true road games this season. … HCC is now 29-2 all time vs.
Colby and 12-2 at the Colby Community Building. … Bobby Maze had his seventh
game of nine or more assists. … The 184 combined points were the second most
in series history. The record was 188 points, set in 1999 (HCC 114, Colby
74). … The 13 rebounds by Colby’s David and Lacerna were individual highs
versus the Blue Dragons this season. … The 12 assists by Colby’s Engel was
an individual high against HCC this season. … Maze’s 10 free throws vs.
Colby were a single-game high for HCC this season. … Colby is the 25th
consecutive team not to shoot 50 percent or better against HCC dating back
to last season. … The Dragons are now 7-0 when shooting 50 percent or
better. … The Dragons are now 2-2 when being outrebounded. … This was
all-time victory No. 1,490 for the Blue Dragons.
<HCC-COLBY
MEN'S BOXSCORE>
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach Ryan Swanson
About Bobby Maze …
“Anybody else, you'd say ‘Unbelievable game.’
But with Bobby, it’s almost becoming the norm. You just come to expect that
from him. That being said, the fact that he had nine assists, he was getting
his teammates involved and they were finishing plays.”
Sophomore Bobby Maze
On his free-throw shooting …
“I made it up in my mind that I wouldn’t do
that again. I used to be a better free throw shooter, but my percentage
doesn't show it. Tonight, I got another opportunity and I iced it. I wasn't
going to let that happen again.”
Freshman Antonio Weary
On Colby's
athleticism …
“They have some good players, some big-time
players. They’re a good team, and a win’s a win on the road. It’s much
harder to win when you're on the road.” |
