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By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Friday, November 2, 2007
Sophomore point guard Bobby Maze had a
spectacular double-double of 16 points and 13 assists to lead the No. 14
Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team to a big rebound victory
on Friday night at the 2007 Quarterback Classic at the Sports Arena.
One night after getting upset by Division II,
21st-ranked Hamilton College, and the Blue Dragons stepped it up against
Brown Mackie on Friday night, defeating the Lions 87-68, snapping a two-game
losing streak to the Salina-based school.
“We had to. I was disgusted last night with
our effort,” HCC head coach Ryan Swanson said. “There’s never an excuse not
to play hard. We didn’t put a dangerous team away when we had a chance.
Lesson learned. I was proud of the way our sophomores stepped up tonight. We
had a good shoot-around. They knew I was not going to tolerate anything less
than everything that they had and for the most part I got that from them
tonight.”
Maze continually pushed the ball up the floor
against the Lions to create opportunities for teammates. He had three
spectacular alley-oop lobs to redshirt freshman Antonio Weary that
electrified the Sports Arena crowd. He had a stretch in the second half
where on three straight possessions Maze delivered pin-point passes that led
to a Ken Bowman dunk, another Bowman point-blank hoop and a Derek Burgan
3-pointer that helped Hutch push the lead to 73-45 with 6:32 to play in the
game.
“Bobby’s great,” said Bowman, who had his
first double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. “He always
pushes the ball and he always looks for us in transition. He’s a fun guy to
play with.”
Weary had 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting and
sophomore Lamar Falley had 10 points, knocking down a pair of 3-point goals.
Freshman Austin Bond added nine points.
“I have to credit my guys for spending extra
hours in the gym after practice,” said Maze who shot 8 of 11 from the field
and had a staggering 13-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio. “I want to make these
guys better players. I want to give them opportunities. I believe in my
teammates and they believe in me. I told them before the game that I wanted
to get 10 assists and we got it done.”
Hutchinson shot 50.7 percent for the game (34
of 67), including 18 of 33 shooting in the second half (52.7 percent). HCC
hit 6 of 15 3-pointers and outrebounded Brown Mackie 49-39.
Defensively, Brown Mackie shot 33.3 percent
overall (21 of 63) and hit 7 of 18 from 3-point range. The Lions (0-2)
committed 20 turnovers, in which the Blue Dragons converted into 29 points.
Bryson Flax had 19 points to lead Brown Mackie.
Unlike Thursday’s season-opening loss to
Hamilton, the Dragons were the aggressor right off the opening tipoff. HCC
scored the first 10 points of the game not even three minutes in. The Lions
hung around for awhile, pulling within 22-17 with 6:29 to play.
The Dragons exploded for a 20-5 run to end
the first half. Maze’s floating jumper just before the first-half buzzer
gave HCC a 42-22 lead at halftime. Defensively, HCC held Brown Mackie to
18.8 percent shooting (6 of 32) in the first half.
Freshman Austin Bond’s 3-pointer early in the
second half helped HCC push the margin for the first time to 28 points at
57-29 with 15:05 to play. The Lions whittled the lead down to 20 with 10
minutes to play in the half, but the Dragons quashed any thoughts of a Brown
Mackie comeback with a dazzling 13-5 run highlighted by five Maze assists
that lead to an array dunks and long-range jumpers. After Weary’s hoop with
6:15 to play, HCC enjoyed its largest lead of 29 at 74-45.
The Blue Dragons will next play No. 11
Arkansas-Fort Smith in the Quarterback’s Classis featured dame on Saturday
night. At halftime, HCC coaching legend Gene Keady will be inducted into the
Quarterback Club Hall of Fame.
GAME NOTES
– Ken Bowman had his fifth career
double-double. … It was Bowman’s 10th career game rebounding in double
figures … Maze has 22 assists in the first two Quarterback Classic games.
HCC is now 6-2 all-time against Brown Mackie.
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OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach Ryan Swanson
On Bobby Maze …
“The guy came out and told me that he wants
to break our single-season assist record. He has 13 assists to two
turnovers. He’s so good at making his teammates better. He’s unselfish. He’s
efficient when he shoots the ball. He gets us 16 points, 13 assists, three
steals; he’s a great teammate.”
Sophomore Ken Bowman
On the importance of winning after
Thursday’s night’s loss to Hamilton …
“After last night giving that game away, it
was very important for us tonight to come out and bury these guys. For us
and other people to show us that we can play.” |
