Third Overtime Of The Day Goes Hutchinson’s Way
Hutchinson, KS – In the night cap of the first day of the Men’s DI Championship, the hometown Blue Dragons, a Plains District At-Large Selection, took on Connors State College (OK), the South Central District Champs.
Hutch, a three time National Champion, was making their 26th appearance on their home floor. It is their second consecutive trip. The Cowboys, with one Championship belt of their own, were making their 14th appearance overall, and first since 2018.
The Cowboys took the advantage heading into the locker rooms 46-39. Playing in front of their largest, boisterous crowd of the season, Hutchinson wasn’t going to let Connors State get too far ahead.
The Blue Dragons bested the Cowboys by the same seven point margin in the second period to send the game to overtime, tied at 90.
It was Connors Mason Alexanders triple that tied it up for the tenth time in the game, with only seconds remaining for Connors State. Hutch’s Angelo Stuart got off a shot, but didn’t connect.
In the overtime, there were two lead flips and 2 ties before Hutch took the lead for good on a Stuart trey with two bucks remaining. After that, the Blue Dragons held off the Cowboy charge for the 101-98 conquest.
Hutch (26-8) got 30 from Stuart (18 in the second half). He was followed by Kaimen Lennox with 20 and Jeydon Garrison’s 12. Lennox grabbed a team high 6 rebounds.
The loss puts Connors State at 28-6. Leading performers for the Ccwboys were Jacoree Ealy who capped off with 20 points and 6 boards. Xavier Glenn finished with 18, only seven coming after the break. Mason Alexander put in 17. Greg Johnson tossed in 13 with a game high 9 rebounds, while DJ Basey and Marquel Sutton each contributed 12.
Hutchinson sets up a match with #5 Seed Chipola on Wednesday, March 16 at 2:00 CDT.
