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Hutchinson Blue Dragon sophomore Ben Davis had
a huge double-double
with 32 points and 17 rebounds in the Dragon's
81-67 victory over
Chattahoochee Valley, Ala., in the second round
of the 1994 NJCAA Tournament.
After six long years, the NJCAA
national championship trophy returned to Hutchinson.
Hutchinson Community College took the
lead for good late in the first half and held off a frantic Three
Rivers, Mo., comeback for a 78-74 victory in the 1994 NJCAA
Tournament championship game at the Sports Arena.
Ben Davis had 20 points, including
two decisive free throws with 4.1 seconds left, to lead the Blue
Dragons, who finished the season with a 35-4 record, the second-most
wins in school history.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Roy
“Pooh” Hairston added 18 points, while John Sweet had 13 and Craig
Duerksen had 12 points for HCC.
For Three Rivers, coached by
legendary junior college coach Gene Bess, Willie Walker had 17
points. Sunday Adebayo had 12 and Lonzell Gowdy had 11 for the
Raiders, who finished 33-5.
“It’s a relief it’s over,” said
Hutchinson head coach Steve McClain, who was an assistant coach for
the Blue Dragons’ 1988 national championship team coached by David
Farrar. “This one feels a lot better right now.
“I’m awfully proud of these kids.
This is a great accomplishment. They beat a good ball club. They had
a lot to prove to people who doubted them, but they never stopped
believing in the system, the coaches and each other.”
The Dragons led by 11 points, 60-49,
when Hairston hit a 3-pointer – HCC’s only one of the game – with 10
minutes, 8 seconds left in the game.
But Three Rivers battled back and had
a chance to tie the game with 7.9 seconds left when Lucas Wagler
fouled out, sending Adebayo to the line. Adebayo missed both free
throws and the ball went out of bounds off Gowdy.
Hutch got the ball to Davis, who was
fouled with 4.1 seconds left and the Dragons leading 76-74. Davis,
who moved on to the University of Arizona after his days at
Hutchinson, made both foul shots.
“I knew I was going to make it,”
Davis said. “I smiled when I went up there because I knew I was
going to make both of them. I think Coach (McClain) knew I was going
to make them, too.”
Davis had missed the second of two
three throws with 1:07 left after putting HCC up 74-72, but Three
Rivers turned the ball over. Hairston hit a pair of foul shots with
47.4 seconds on the clock, giving the Dragons a four-point cushion.
After Anthony Rodebush converted a
15-foot jumper for Three Rivers, Wagler missed inside for Hutch.
Wagler then fouled Adebayo with 7.9 seconds to go, setting up the
Three Rivers’ All-American’s two misses from the line.
Hutchinson, which led 33-32 at
halftime, took command with a 10-2 run late in the period.
Hairston’s free throws with 4:52 left
put HCC in front, 27-26, and sparked the Dragons’ spurt. It was the
fourth lead change of the half, which also had three ties.
Hairston gave Hutch a three-point
advantage with a pull-up 8-foot bank shot at the 4:30 mark of the
first half, and after James Jones answered for Three Rivers, the
Dragons scored five straight points to lead by eight.
Sweet hit from 12 feet in the lane
and converted a three-point play on a fast-break pass from Courtney
Morgan. Hairston then put the Dragons ahead 36-28 with 2:30 to go.
Hutch had an early 13-7 lead, when
Duerksen followed a Sweet miss with 13:26 left in the half. But
Three Rivers came back to take its first lead at 17-16 on Walker’s
3-point bank shot from the right wing with 10:30 remaining.
Once Hutchinson’s second national
championship was locked up, a wild celebration ensued. Once that
calmed down, the celebrating wasn’t over as the Dragons started
pulling in post-tournament honors.
Hairston was named the Tournament’s
Most Valuable Player. He finished second in tournament scoring with
72 points. Hairston and Davis, who was ninth in scoring with 66
points, were named to the 12-member all-tournament team.
McClain was named the Coach of the
Tournament and Wagler earned the Sesher Sportsmanship Award.
Hutch’s journey to the 1994 national
championship game was entertaining to say the least.
After a thrilling Region 6
championship game victory over rival Butler County a week prior to
the NJCAA Tournament, the Blue Dragons opened the ’94 tournament
with Bossier Parish, La.
Playing in their first NJCAA
Tournament game since winning the 1988 crown, HCC forced five
Bossier turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half and
cruised to a 99-83 victory. Hairston scored 31 points, including a
pair of 3-pointers during a decisive 14-4 run, to lead the Dragons.
Hairston added nine rebounds and five assists. Davis and Duersken
had 16 points each.
The next day, Davis turned in an
overpowering 32-point, 17-rebound performance in Hutch’s 81-67
second-round victory over Chatahoochee Valley, Ala. The Dragons, who
led by only three points at halftime, opened the second half with
runs of 9-2 and 12-0 to stretch their advantage to 65-44 with 10:35
remaining. Hairston added 21 points and Sweet had 18, which limited
Chatahoochee Valley to 38-percent shooting.
With the Sports Arena packed for the
Friday night semifinals, the capacity partisan Blue Dragon crowd was
getting nervous because HCC trailed for most of its Final Four
battle with Connors State, Okla. But the Dragons led when it matters
the most and came away with an 80-79 victory to move into its fourth
NJCAA Tournament championship game.
Wagler hit a free throw with 14.7
seconds left to give the Dragons their slim, but decisive margin. He
was the third Hutch hero in as many games, scoring a career-high 24
points to go with 10 rebounds and four assists.
Connors State had built a 14-point
first-half lead before the Dragons rallied to trail just 42-40 at
halftime. |
