The Hutchinson Blue Dragons men's basketball team had all the answers for the Dodge City Community College Conquistadors' efforts to get back into Wednesday's game, which ultimately ended in an 84-72 Dragon win at the Civic Center.
Hutchinson build a 21-point lead midway through the second half, but Dodge battled back to within 10 late in the game before bending at the hands of Hutch's efficient offensive attack.
The Blue Dragons shot 64 percent from the field and canned 6-of-10 3-pointers.
"That's your difference right there," said DCCC coach Brady Trenkle. "I don't know how you only lose by 12 when a team shoots it that well against you. They made everything."
Hutch coach Ryan Swanson was forced to call a quick timeout just 30 seconds into the game as Dodge came out to an early 5-0 lead. But from then on, it was all Blue Dragons, all the time.
The Conqs switched up defensive looks throughout the first half against the hot-handed Dragons, but the visitors got the ball inside against the Conquistadors' man-to-man and made perimeter jumpers against the Conq zone.
"It had a lot to do with size," Trenkle said. "There's only two guys on our team that have technically played in this league, and Hutch has some players — they're extremely talented."
Darius Johnson-Odom led the Dragons (13-3, 2-0 Jayhawk Conference) with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on the night. Post man Dominique Rutledge added 19, and Cliff Dixon chimed in with 18.
"Dixon was really rolling tonight, and I think Odom is one of the best players in our league, hands down," Trenkle said. "But we just didn't play enough defense."
Swanson added: "I thought we did a good job in the first half of taking good shots and making the extra pass. We've got guys that can make shots when they take the right one."
Dodge guard and scoring leader Rodney Clinkscales went down hard with just under six minutes left in the first half on a break to the basket, during which he was fouled by Hutch's Austin Bond. An intentional foul was called, and Clinkscales did not seem like himself afterwards.
"I have no doubt it affected him the rest of the game," Trenkle said. "He was a half step slow the rest of the way. We've got to try to find a way to get him healthy moving forward."
With Clinkscales only shooting 3-of-15 and center Rodney Goodson saddled with foul trouble, the Conqs (7-9, 0-2 Jayhawk) found what it took to make it a game in the second half behind the slashing quickness of point guard Cory Perkins and timely shooting from backup guard Dante Redmond. Perkins finished the game with a season-high 18 points and zero turnovers, while Redmond keyed Dodge's second-half spurt with nine points of his own.
"Cory's been in the gym on his own time, and I think it showed tonight," Trenkle said. "And Dante's a guy who hasn't played much, but I told him he'd get his chances, and he proved he's earned it tonight."
One of Redmond's two 3-pointers with 4:25 left in the game brought the lead to 10 at 76-66, but that was as close as Dodge came to pulling out the upset.
"We talked at halftime about having the maturity to realize that the game wasn't over," Swanson said. "[Dodge is] dangerous, but it's a road win, and we're happy about that."
The Conqs will travel to Great Bend on Saturday to take on the 14-1 Barton County CC Cougars (1-0 Jayhawk). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
"We don't have an easy road ahead of us, trying to get that first conference win," Trenkle said. "But you're going to have to hit us in the jaw a couple of times to knock us down."
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The Hutchinson Blue Dragons men's basketball team had all the answers for the Dodge City Community College Conquistadors' efforts to get back into Wednesday's game, which ultimately ended in an 84-72 Dragon win at the Civic Center.
Hutchinson build a 21-point lead midway through the second half, but Dodge battled back to within 10 late in the game before bending at the hands of Hutch's efficient offensive attack.
The Blue Dragons shot 64 percent from the field and canned 6-of-10 3-pointers.
"That's your difference right there," said DCCC coach Brady Trenkle. "I don't know how you only lose by 12 when a team shoots it that well against you. They made everything."
Hutch coach Ryan Swanson was forced to call a quick timeout just 30 seconds into the game as Dodge came out to an early 5-0 lead. But from then on, it was all Blue Dragons, all the time.
The Conqs switched up defensive looks throughout the first half against the hot-handed Dragons, but the visitors got the ball inside against the Conquistadors' man-to-man and made perimeter jumpers against the Conq zone.
"It had a lot to do with size," Trenkle said. "There's only two guys on our team that have technically played in this league, and Hutch has some players — they're extremely talented."
Darius Johnson-Odom led the Dragons (13-3, 2-0 Jayhawk Conference) with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on the night. Post man Dominique Rutledge added 19, and Cliff Dixon chimed in with 18.
"Dixon was really rolling tonight, and I think Odom is one of the best players in our league, hands down," Trenkle said. "But we just didn't play enough defense."
Swanson added: "I thought we did a good job in the first half of taking good shots and making the extra pass. We've got guys that can make shots when they take the right one."
Dodge guard and scoring leader Rodney Clinkscales went down hard with just under six minutes left in the first half on a break to the basket, during which he was fouled by Hutch's Austin Bond. An intentional foul was called, and Clinkscales did not seem like himself afterwards.
"I have no doubt it affected him the rest of the game," Trenkle said. "He was a half step slow the rest of the way. We've got to try to find a way to get him healthy moving forward."
With Clinkscales only shooting 3-of-15 and center Rodney Goodson saddled with foul trouble, the Conqs (7-9, 0-2 Jayhawk) found what it took to make it a game in the second half behind the slashing quickness of point guard Cory Perkins and timely shooting from backup guard Dante Redmond. Perkins finished the game with a season-high 18 points and zero turnovers, while Redmond keyed Dodge's second-half spurt with nine points of his own.
"Cory's been in the gym on his own time, and I think it showed tonight," Trenkle said. "And Dante's a guy who hasn't played much, but I told him he'd get his chances, and he proved he's earned it tonight."
One of Redmond's two 3-pointers with 4:25 left in the game brought the lead to 10 at 76-66, but that was as close as Dodge came to pulling out the upset.
"We talked at halftime about having the maturity to realize that the game wasn't over," Swanson said. "[Dodge is] dangerous, but it's a road win, and we're happy about that."
The Conqs will travel to Great Bend on Saturday to take on the 14-1 Barton County CC Cougars (1-0 Jayhawk). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
"We don't have an easy road ahead of us, trying to get that first conference win," Trenkle said. "But you're going to have to hit us in the jaw a couple of times to knock us down."
