Hutchinson reaches NJCAA title game
Hutchinson didn’t have quite as deep of a hole to escape Friday night, and as a result, the Blue Dragons will play for an NJCAA championship Saturday.
Sophomore post Shakur Juiston posted another double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds and Hutch pulled away in the final 5 1/2 minutes for an 88-79 semifinal victory over Northwest Florida State.
The Blue Dragons (34-2) will face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal that matched South Plains (Texas) and Eastern Florida State at 7 p.m. Saturday. Northwest Florida (29-4) will play for third place at 5.
The second half was largely a seesaw affair, with the Blue Dragons’ largest lead being the final margin.
The Raiders, finding some first-half success from the perimeter, kept trying three-pointers. But they only made 2 of 12 attempts after halftime.
Meanwhile, the Blue Dragons kept pounding it inside, using the athleticism of Juiston, Kai Mitchell, Sal Nuhu and J.J. Rhymes for buckets and three-point opportunities.
The Blue Dragons didn’t take the lead for good until Devonte Bandoo – one of four Blue Dragons to score in double figures – hit two free throws with 5:31 to play. Nuhu’s thunderous dunk of a Juiston miss pushed the lead to 73-69, and Hutch stayed just far enough ahead the rest of the way.
Along with Juiston, Hutch also had double-figure performances from Rhymes (team-high 20 – 15 in the first half), Samajae Haynes-Jones (15) and Bandoo (10).
Haynes-Jones, the Wichita State signee, scored a lay-in with 1:16 that was reminiscent of Thursday’s quarterfinal against Odessa, as it – like so many others Thursday – bounced a couple times on the rim before falling. He completed the three-point play for an 82-75 lead with 1:16 to play.
As in Thursday’s quarterfinal, Hutch fell behind early, but instead of a 17-point first-half deficit, Northwest Florida’s lead reached eight. The Blue Dragons turned up the heat in the final minute, closing the half with a 7-0 run on a dunk by Juiston, a three-pointer by Rhymes and a floater in the lane by Mitchell.
Hutch was led in the first half by Rhymes’ 15 points – nine coming on three-pointers. Juiston was a monster on the boards, grabbing nine rebounds – seven on the defensive end. The Blue Dragons held a 21-14 rebounding advantage.
Turnovers plagued Hutch early, committing 10 in the opening period but only three in the second half.
Northwest Florida hit four of 10 three-point tries to three of seven for Hutch – all by Rhymes. After hitting 40 percent from three-point range in the opening half, the Raiders’ 2-of-12 second half dropped their percentage to 27.3 for the game.
The Raiders also placed four players in double figures, led by 23 from 6-7 Jeromy Rodriguez, 20 from guard Daryl Edwards, 15 from P.J. Bruce and 11 from Jared Wilson-Frame. Rodriguez also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds.
Northwest Florida started hot from the floor but eventually cooled off as Hutch tightened the defense to 44.4 percent for the half. And when the Raiders missed, Juiston was there to corral the rebound. Mitchell added six rebounds for the Blue Dragons – four on the defensive end.
This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Hutchinson reaches NJCAA title game."