Hutchinson edges Butler in Region VI men’s semifinals

Each time Butler and Hutchinson played this season, the Blue Dragons’ margin of victory kept decreasing.

In Tuesday night’s Region VI men’s basketball semifinal, that distance was razor-thin, but Hutchinson held on for a 105-103 victory.

“We caught Butler at their best,” Hutchinson coach Steve Eck said. “They were really good. They had won six in a row, and we caught Butler at their best – they were 16 of 30 from the three-point line, and lots of the time we were guarding them.”

Sophomore post Shakur Juiston echoed Eck’s comments.

“They’re a great team,” Juiston said. “They play us hard and aggressive with energy every game. They matched our intensity, but it came down to the wire. I knew it was going to be a war.”

The Blue Dragons (30-1) will try to clinch the region’s automatic berth in the NJCAA national tournament Wednesday when they face Coffeyville – the only team to defeat Hutch this season.

As is usually the case when these archrivals square off, there was plenty of suspense in Tuesday’s game.

The Grizzlies (19-12) got off to a fast start, taking an early 10-2 lead. But Hutchinson battled back and took a 51-43 halftime lead.

Butler refused to die, however, and when freshman J.J. Rhymes missed two free throws, Butler went to the line when Johnathan Lindsey was fouled on the rebound of Rhymes’ second shot.

Given another opportunity, Rhymes hit the first for a two-point lead.

“I was thinking redemption,” he said. “After missing those two free throws, I thought I had to do something on the defensive end, which I did (because) I got the rebound, and that was a big-time play.”

Butler freshman LaJuan Hardy, who finished with a game-high 30 points then drove in for a tying layup, but his shot came up just short.

“About 2 inches,” Butler coach Bryan Miller said. “That’s about the story of the game. He had a great look, and LaJuan played great all night long. He had six threes, got in the paint and made great decisions, took care of the ball. That was what we wanted, that was the play we drew up in the timeout.

“It’s just unfortunate that he couldn’t get that one to fall.”

The shot couldn’t diminish the night by Hardy, who had a game-high 30 points – 23 in the second half.

But Rhymes was nearly as effective, with a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds.

It was also a great night for a sophomore standout from each team. Lindsey had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, and Blue Dragons sophomore Shakur Juiston recorded his second straight double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

“Coach (Steve Eck) says if you play hard, that’s always going to be the outcome,” Juiston said. “We have a lot of tough players. As I told coach, some of us are crazy, but we’re not quitters.”

For the second time in the tournament, a freshman stepped forward for the Blue Dragons. In Sunday’s quarterfinal, Sal Nuhu had a double-double, and Tuesday night it was Rhymes. He played a team-high 38 minutes, hit 10 of 17 field-goal tries and seven of 11 from the line.

But another freshman had a big role in the victory as well. Devonte Bandoo hit a key free throw and a dagger of a three-pointer from the right baseline that pushed Hutch to a four-point lead after Butler had tied the score at 100-100 with less than a minute left.

Coffeyville shut down second-seeded Barton County’s offensive in the first half Tuesday, then withstood a furious Cougars comeback for a 91-87 victory at the Region VI men’s basketball tournament at Hartman Arena.

The Red Ravens (21-12) will face either top-seeded Hutchinson or No. 5 Butler in Wednesday’s final for the automatic berth in the NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson.

Five Coffeyville players scored in double figures, led by sophomore Tedrick Wolfe’s double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

“(I was) just trying to stay focused out there and do what I can to help my team win,” he said.

Sophomore Jordan Taylor matched Wolfe with 19 points, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

Barton (25-8) rallied in the second half, hitting 58 percent from the field. But the Red Ravens remained hot, shooting 59 percent (13 of 22).

Coffeyville coach Jay Herkelman is no stranger to the national tournament, and he was hopeful of getting back.

“To get to this point is so hard to do,” Herkelman said.

The shutdown of Barton in the first half pleased Herkelman.

“We guarded well,” he said. “We tried to stay in the gaps and not allow them to get in the lane. If you let them get deep (into the lane), their forwards become very effective, because then your forwards have to help. We were able to do that in the first half; the second half we didn’t do as good of a job.”

Wolfe did the damage early, scoring 10 first-half points, and Taylor and three freshmen – Travis Washington (18 points), Malik Keith (12) and Mike Cubbage (10) – lent crucial support.

Barton outscored the Red Ravens 57-44 in the second half. Sophomore Anthony Smith, who had just two points at halftime, bulled his way inside for 21 after halftime before fouling out with 15.7 seconds to play.

By that time, the Cougars were in a position where they had to foul, and Jahlil Rowley’s dunk as the buzzer sounded made the margin a little closer.

“It was a double-digit lead for the most part,” Barton coach Craig Fletchall said. “They were more physical than us early. We came out a little shellshocked. We did what we’ve done all year. We’re a second-half club. It was just too big of a hole for us.”

Seward County women 72, Cloud County 54: Sophomore 6-8 center Joanna Grymek had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and the Saints (31-1) advanced to Wednesday’s final against Hutchinson. Seward pulled away in the third quarter, when it outscored the Thunderbirds 24-6.

Hutchinson women 81, Cowley 58: Sophomore guard Taylor Stahly scored 24 points, including 7 of 10 from three-point range, helping the Blue Dragons (32-1) race past the Tigers (24-9). Hutchinson posted 20 points or more in each of the first three quarters. Amy O’Neil scored 18 points for Cowley.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Hutchinson edges Butler in Region VI men’s semifinals."