Hovpensports.com - No. 1 Blue Dragons head to Garden City

February 6, 2013

Steve Carpenter, HCC-SID
Special to Hovpensports.com

NO. 1 BLUE DRAGONS HEAD WEST TO FACE OFF AGAINST GARDEN CITY

The NJCAA No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team goes on the road for the first time in 11 days when the Jayhawk West-leading Blue Dragons travel to Garden City.

Tipoff at the Perryman Athletic Complex at Garden City Community College will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister station KWBW-AM (1450) beginning at 7:20 p.m. The Blue Dragon Sports Network will provide a live videostream and audio-only stream beginning at 7:20 p.m.

The Blue Dragons are 5-0 away from the Sports Arena this season and under fourth-year head coach Steve Eck, the Dragons are 24-7 in true road games.

In Hutchinson's last nine trips to Garden City, the Dragons are 2-7, but won at the Perryman Complex 81-72 last season.

Hutchinson (23-0) leads the Jayhawk West by two games over Seward County and three games over Garden City entering play on Wednesday.

HCC defeated Dodge City 78-65 to open the Jayhawk West's second half on Saturday at the Sports Arena. Sophomore Alex Davis and freshman Kadeem Allen scored 16 points each and freshman A.J. Spencer added 15 as the Blue Dragons shot better than 50 percent for the 11th time this season.

Garden City (10-13, 2-7) have lost five in a row for first-year coach Rand Chappell after dropping a 69-55 road decision on Saturday at Butler.

The Busters pushed Hutchinson hard in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 7 at the Sports Arena. The Blue Dragons survived season-low marks for points and field-goal percentage, but found a way to defeat the Broncbusters 65-58.

Blue Dragons No. 2 in NJCAA in all-time wins

With their 76-64 victory over Mesa Community College on Nov. 3, the Blue Dragons reached 1,600 wins in their illustrious history.

The Blue Dragons are 1,620-556, a winning percentage of .744 in their 81st season of men's basketball.

The Blue Dragons trail only Southeastern Iowa in all-time wins. Southeastern Iowa.

HCC played its 2,100th game on Dec. 4, 2010 vs. Harcum College.

With their 76-69 victory over Seward County on Jan. 3, 2010, the Blue Dragons moved past Moberly Area Community College for second place on the NJCAA all-time wins list.

With a 79-53 victory over Labette on Nov. 1, 2008, the Blue Dragons became only the third NJCAA program to post 1,500 victories. Win No. 1,400 came on Feb. 9, 2004 at Butler.

Blue Dragons in national poll

For the second time in three seasons, the Blue Dragons have reached the No. 1 spot in the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Poll. The Blue Dragons have maintained that top spot for four-straight weeks.

Before Jan. 15, the last time HCC was ranked No. 1 was in 2010-11. That team held the top spot for two weeks.

Before that, the last time that Hutchinson was ranked No. 1 in a regular season poll was on Jan. 7, 1992. The Blue Dragons - the starting point guard on that team was current HCC women's coach John Ontjes - started that season 15-0 and spent one week in the nation's top spot before getting bumped off. That team finished 22-7 and was Region VI runner-up.

The latest No. 1 national ranking is only the fourth since 1975 for the Blue Dragon men. The 1974-75 Blue Dragons, coached by Dick Gisel, started their season 24-0. That Blue Dragon team finished 32-3, won the Jayhawk West and Region VI crowns and finished eighth in the 1975 NJCAA Tournament.

HCC has now been ranked in 12 consecutive NJCAA polls, dating back to last season.

23-0 start ties for 2nd best in Blue Dragon history

Fast starts under the Steve Eck watch have been nothing new in his four seasons with the Blue Dragons.

This season's 23-0 start ties for the second-best start in team history, matching the NJCAA national champion 1987-88 Blue Dragons.

In Eck's four seasons at Hutchinson, the Blue Dragons have gone 12-2, 14-0, 13-1 and 14-0 in non-conference play.

The best start to a season came in 1974-75, a 24-0 start to a season. A win against Garden City would match that start.

Current winning streak tied for 3rd longest

Hutchinson's current 23-game winning streak is tied for the third-longest in the program's 83-year history.

The current streak matches the 1987-88 NJCAA national champion Blue Dragons, which won 23 in a row en route to the NJCAA title.

The Blue Dragons have had 33 winning streaks of 10 or more games in program history and five of 20 or more.

The longest win streak in HCC history is 24 games, which was done twice in 1967-68 (coached by Gene Keady) and 1974-75 (coached by Dick Gisel).

About the 2012-13 Blue Dragons

+ The Blue Dragons have risen to the No. 1 spot in the Jayhawk West in scoring offense at 83.0 points per game. The Dragons rank first in the league in field-goal percentage at 48.5 percent. HCC ranks second in the league in free-throw percentage at 67.5 percent. HCC is fifth in 3-point percentage at 31.8 percent and have made a league-low 70 for the season.

+ Defensively, the Blue Dragons rank seventh in scoring defense at 67.7 points per game. Opponents are shooting 38.9 percent overall and 26.8 percent from 3-point range. The Dragons lead the Jayhawk West in 3-point defense 26.8 percent and are second in field-goal percentage at 38.9 percent.

+ The Blue Dragons have been particularly strong defensively over the last five games, holding two opponents to less than 30-percent shooting. Over the last five games, the Dragons are allowing 63.4 points per game. Opponents are shooting 36.0 percent overall and just 18.9 percent from 3-point range.

+ Through nine Jayhawk West games, HCC is averaging 79.7 points, shooting 47.6 percent overall. The Blue Dragons haven't utilized the 3-point shot as much in conference play. Shooting 28.2 percent, the Dragons are just 22 of 78 from distance in league play. Defensively, HCC is allowing 67.1 points, 38.4 percent field-goal shooting and 23.8 percent from 3-point range.

+ Freshman guard Kadeem Allen has posted four 20-point games in conference play. Overall, he is third in the Jayhawk West in scoring at 17.2 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 20 of 21 games played this season, averaging 19.4 points per game in Jayhawk West games. Allen is shooting 43.6 percent, 35.4 percent from 3-point range and 70.2 percent from the foul line. Allen also has team highs of 75 assists and 52 steals. Allen ranks fourth in the KJCCC West in steals and seventh in assists.

+ Sophomore guard A.J. Spencer is second in scoring at 15.1 points per game, which is sixth in the Jayhawk West. Spencer ranks third in field-goal percentage at 59.1 percent, while leading the West at the free-throw line (83.1 percent). Spencer is averaging 16.8 points in conference play, shooting 59.6 percent. The sophomore is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game.

+ Sophomore forward Alex Davis averages 13.1 points per game with a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. Davis is 13th in the Jayhawk West in scoring and third in rebounding. Davis is shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 61.9 percent from the foul line. He has gone to the line 147 times this season, second-most in the league. Davis leads the Jayhawk West lead in blocks at 2.57 rejections per game.

+ Since returning to the line-up two games ago, sophomore point guard D'von Campbell is averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 assists. For the season, Campbell is averaging 11.3 points per game and is hitting 79.1 percent from the free-throw line. Campbell is fourth in the league in assists at 4.06 per game.

+ The Blue Dragon bench is averaging 19.3 points for the season, but that number has dropped to 13.8 points in conference play. Freshman Tafari Whittingham, who missed the last two games because of injuries is the leading scorer off the bench at averaging 9.2 points per game, shooting 51.4 percent. Sophomore Dre Henley has had games of 18 and 10 points in his last two of his last three games. He is averaging 6.4 points, shooting 53.1 percent from the floor. He had a career-high six assists vs. Cloud County on Jan. 26 and had a season-high seven rebounds vs. Seward County on Jan. 29.

+ The Blue Dragons have out-rebounded 11 of 23 opponents this season. HCC is plus 2.4 in rebounding advantage, pulling down 41.4 boards per game. The Blue Dragons are averaging 13.5 offensive rebounds per game.

+ Over the last four games, HCC has out-rebounded each opponent by an average of 10.8 per game. HCC has 234 total rebounds over that span of games.

+ The Blue Dragons average 18.2 assists per game and 9.3 steals.

+ Hutchinson averages 15.7 turnovers and forcing opponents into 19.1 turnovers per game. The Blue Dragons had a season-low eight turnovers vs. Barton on Jan. 16.

+ HCC is 18-0 at the Sports Arena this season, averaging 83.4 points per game.

+ HCC is 5-0 on the road this season, averaging 81.4 points per game.

Scouting Garden City

+ First-year Garden City coach Rand Chappell is a former Southwest Missouri State teammate of Blue Dragon athletic director Randy Stange.

+ The Broncbusters have lost five in a row after back-to-back Jayhawk West victories against Barton and Colby. Over their current skid, the Busters are averaging only 58.4 points per game.

+ The Busters rank last of nine teams in scoring offense in the Jayhawk West. Garden City is averaging 66.9 points per game, shooting 40.5 percent overall and 30.4 percent from 3-point range. The Busters rank eighth and ninth in those two categories, respectively. Garden City ranks fourth at the free-throw line at 65.2 percent.

+ Garden City ranks sixth in the Jayhawk West in scoring defense at 66.3 points per game. The Busters rank sixth in field-goal defense at 41.0 percent and ninth in 3-point defense at 66.3 percent.

+ During league play, Garden City is averaging 60.9 points per game offensively, shooting 37.3 percent overall, 27.0 percent from 3-point range and 63.5 percent from the foul line. Defensively, the Busters are allowing 65.5 points, 41.1 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from long range.

+ Jade Cathey is Garden City's top scorer at 14.9 points per game with 8.3 boards per game. Cathey, who has played in only eight games, is shooting 61.1 percent from the field.

+ Chris Hall is averaging 14.8 points per game. He has a team-high 60 3-pointers and shoots 33.1 percent from the floor. Hall is seventh in the Jayhawk West in scoring and second in made 3-pointers (2.73).

+ Reubon King is 14th in the league in scoring at 12.9 points per game. He is shooting 42.9 percent and has 36 3-pointers.

+ Frank Agholar averages 11.3 points and is eighth in assists at 3.32 per game.

+ The Busters are third in the Jayhawk West in blocked shots at 4.1 rejections per contest. Mike Chandler is fourth individually in blocks at 1.35 per game. Joe Ebondo is tied for sixth at 1.09 per game.

+ Garden City averages 9.0 assists per contest, only 6.88 assists in conference play.

+ The Busters average 38.2 rebounds per game, including 12.5 offensive boards. Garden City allows 36.3 rebounds per game.

+ Garden City turns the ball over 14.0 times per game and forced 14.0 turnovers.

+ The Busters are 1-1 in overtime games this season, defeating Highland 83-78 on Nov. 23 and falling 71-69 at home against Pratt on Jan. 16.

+ Garden City is 4-6 on its home court this season, going 3-4 away from the Perryman Complex and 3-2 on neutral floors.

Series history against Garden City

This will be the 170th meeting between Hutchinson and Garden City in a series that began in 1929.

Garden City is one of four opponents that the Blue Dragons have at least 100 victories against. HCC is 123-46 overall against the Broncbusters. The 123 victories are the second most against any opponent.

HCC is 68-9 in games played in Hutchinson and 54-6 in games played at the Sports Arena. HCC is 45-34 at Garden City. The Busters had won 7 of the last 8 and 10 of 13 at the Perryman Athletic Complex. The Dragons are 10-3 in Region VI meetings with the Busters.

The Blue Dragons defeated Garden City 65-58 in the team's first meeting on Jan. 7 at the Sports Arena.

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