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By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Hutchinson Community College men’s
basketball team snapped a three-year Region VI Tournament first-round losing
streak, shaking off some first-half nerves before rolling to an 85-61
opening-round victory over Fort Scott on Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons (23-8) will meet the
Coffeyville-Dodge City winner at 3 p.m. on Sunday in the Region VI
quarterfinals at Wichita State University’s Charles Koch Arena.
Fort Scott (8-23) brought good game plan into
the game, frustrating the Blue Dragons in the first half. The Greyhounds led
30-20 with 5:57 left in the first half before the Dragons rallied to tie the
game at 35-all at halftime and then outscored Fort Scott 50-26 in the second
half, shooting a sizzling 59.4 percent in the final 20 minutes (19 of 32).
“They knew what was on the line. They were
already feeling bad. They were trying too hard,” HCC head coach Ryan Swanson
said about his players’ mood at halftime. “We were extremely nervous. They
have worked really hard for a really long time and it’s a long season.
“They were trying to make plays that they
can’t make. At halftime we talked about doing things that made us successful
to this point.”
Down 10, sophomore Bobby Maze helped turn the
tide in Hutchinson’s favor with a personal 9-0 run over a 1 minute, 11
second stretch to pull HCC back within one. After that, other Dragons
started to get into the offensive flow.
Maze and sophomore Ken Bowman led four HCC
players in double figures with 17 points each.
Maze added nine assists to move into second
place on the single-season assist list with 214, moving past Henry ‘T’
Buchanan.
Bowman just missed a double-double with nine
rebounds. Bowman also tied a career- and team season-high six blocked shots
to become only the fourth Blue Dragon ever to post 100 or more blocked
shots.
Sophomore Lamar Falley knocked down a pair of
big 3-point goals and finished with 12 points, as well as six rebounds, two
assists and two steals.
Freshman Sam Edwards, more known for his
defense, had season highs of 11 points and three 3-point goals in six
attempts.
‘It was alright,” said Edwards of hitting
some key shots. “My offensive fed off my defense. I didn’t want to lose.
Bobby (Maze) told me to shoot the ball, so I shot the ball.”
Freshman Derek Burgan tied his season highs
with three 3-point goals and nine points.
The Dragons finished shooting 45.7 percent
(32 of 70) overall. HCC tied a season high with 12 3-pointers on 25
attempts. Hutch was 9 of 11 from the free-throw line. HCC tied season-low
with 11 turnovers, but were badly outrebounded 46-35.
“Fort Scott had a good game plan for us,”
Swanson said. “It was effective because we were shooting too many threes and
weren’t making them. They played hard. They have big guards, but no big
guys. It’s tough matchup for us. It was a good plan. I give then a lot of
credit.”
Arsenio Williams had 21 points and 11
rebounds on 6 of 22 shooting to lead Fort Scott. Brandon Kinnie added 17
points and Kyle Grant had 10 for the Greyhounds. Fort Scott shot 23 of 59
(39.0 percent) overall and just 1 of 5 from distance. The Hounds were 14 of
28 from the free-throw line and committed 20 turnovers. HCC outscored Fort
Scott 34-14 in points off turnovers.
“We may have taken them a little lightly,”
Falley said. “We came out a little soft. It took them to get a lead for us
to understand that these are the playoffs and if you lose, you are done.”
Fort Scott had tow impressive spurts to get
HCC fans more than a little nervous in the first half.
A 7-0 run in the opening minutes gave Fort
Scott a 12-4 lead with 14:58 remaining in the first half. After HCC rallied
to tie the game at 16-all, the Greyhounds took the play to HCC with a 14-4
run, scoring eight straight – six by Kinnie – to lead 30-20 with 5:57 left
in the first half, prompting HCC to call a timeout.
HCC then closed the half on a 15-5 run, which
was started by Maze’s personal nine-point run that included two 3-point
goals, and the Dragons fought back to tie the game at 35-all at halftime.
The Dragons started the second half missing
their first five shots. Meanwhile, Fort Scott was still attacking the rim
and a Kinnie hoop with 17:27 to play gave the Greyhounds a 43-39 lead.
It didn’t take long, though for HCC to remain
the lead. Falley’s 3-pointer from the right wing with 15:48 to play put HCC
on top for good at 46-45. Falley scored seven-straight points during HCC’s
surge back to the lead.
A 3-pointer by Bowman capped a 21-5 run to
give HCC a 67-51 lead with 9:16 to play. A Derek trey gave Hutch its first
20-point lead at 80-59 with 3:46 to play. The scoring was closed out by
freshman Austin Bond’s deep 3-pointer with 56 seconds left. It’s Bonds’
first points in a game since the Northern Oklahoma-Enid game on Nov. 10.
GAME NOTES
– HCC is now 110-38 all time in Region VI competition. … Hutch is 45-7 in
first-round games. … HCC is now 28-13 against Fort Scott, 12-3 in Hutchinson
and 5-0 in Region VI play. … This was all-time victory No. 1,498 for HCC. …
Lamar Falley jumped to eighth on HCC’s career 3-point list with 107. He’s
tied for eighth with Keldrick Brooks on the single-season list with 59. …
With a team season-high 10 blocked shots, the 2008 Blue Dragons jump to
fourth in program history with 143 rejections. … This was Bobby Maze’s 10th
game this season with nine or more assists. … Sophomore Henry Rogers tied a
career high with two blocked shots.
<HCC
MEN-FORT SCOTT BOXSCORE>
<HCC-FORT SCOTT PHOTO GALLERY>
MEN'S REGION VI BRACKET
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach Ryan Swanson
On Sam Edwards’ offense …
“Sam took good shots. Sam’s not a shooter,
but he has a humungous heart. That heart translated into him having the
courage to take and knock down some shots that he had to take because they
basically dared him to shoot.”
On the play of the HCC bench …
“Sam and Blake have been steady for us off
the bench and Abdul’s become steady. To win, you have to do it with more
than eight. Derek hit some big shots for us tonight and Austin’s capable of
coming in and hitting shots.”
Freshman Sam Edwards
On the improved second-half effort …
“The defense changed in the second half. We
played hard the first half, but not our hardest. We knew we had some more
energy in our tank and we used it in the second half.”
Sophomore Lamar Falley
On Sam Edwards …
“Sam’s been in the gym working out. We told
him that he needs to be an offensive threat and he stepped up today.”
On the improved second-half effort …
“We were settling for jump shots in the first
half. We drove the ball in the second half, which opened up our jump shots.” |
