Hutchinson advances to NJCAA quarterfinals
Hutchinson Community College was determined to make certain that history didn’t repeat itself at the NJCAA tournament.
“Two years ago, we crapped out in the first game against Howard (Texas), had an eight-point lead, same kind of lead … we didn’t want a repeat of that,” coach Steve Eck said after the sixth-seeded Blue Dragons escaped a tight first half for a 73-61 victory Wednesday night at Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons (29-6) hit 26 of 39 free throws – 21 of 30 in the second half — to hold off the No. 11-seeded Cardinals (27-5).
Free throws were huge, but that didn’t surprise Eck.
“We’re the third-most free-throw shooting team in the country,” he said. “That’s one of our goals is to get to the line.”
Leading scorer DeShawn Freeman and freshman Keanu Pinder each recorded a double-double for the Blue Dragons. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Freeman finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds; Pinder, a 6-11, 215-pounder from Australia, had 14 points and a team-high 15 rebounds.
“We had to control the boards,” Eck said. “Whoever controlled the boards, I thought, was going to win.”
Not an easy task, as the Cardinals played seven players 6-6 or taller.
“We had to keep Trinity Valley off the boards,” Eck said. “I think we accomplished that goal.”
Although he was pleased with the 50-32 rebounding advantage, one stat disappointed Eck.
“We did give them 14 offensive rebounds,” he said. “That’s too many. Of course, they didn’t shoot a real good percentage, so they had a chance to get rebounds.”
Leading 30-24 at halftime, Hutch hit 11 of 22 field goals in the second half and gradually pulled away.
“We got stronger as the game went on; we got tougher and tougher as the game went on,” Eck said.
Trinity Valley’s guards, Dedrick Basile and Shelton Hagigal, combined for 7-of-34 shooting, including 4 of 20 from three-point range.
Hutch sophomore Zach Winter of Andover was among those entrusted with stopping the Cardinals guards.
“Me and Akbar (Hoffman) were glad to hold (Basile) to 5-of-20 shooting,” Winter said. “Five-of-20’s not too hot, so that’s what we were hoping to get off them.”
Hutchinson sophomore Austin Budke maneuvered his 6-6 frame inside for six field goals and hit three of four free throws.
Hoffman, a 6-1 freshman from New Jersey, provided a spark in the second half, scoring all 10 of his points on four field goals and two free throws.
“I barely played him (Hoffman) in the first half (six minutes),” Eck said. “I told him at halftime, ‘You’d better be ready.’ What he did didn’t surprise me.”
Hutch will next face the tournament’s underdog, Georgia Highlands College, Thursday at 8 p.m.. The Chargers edged third-seeded College of Southern Idaho 67-66 on a three-pointer with six seconds left by Montrel Goldston.
TRINITY VALLEY: Swift 0-1 0-1 0, Thomas 4-9 0-0 9, Basile 5-20 0-0 12, Williams 4-7 2-3 10, Hagigal 2-14 0-0 6, Brown 1-2 0-1 2, Blanco 0-0 0-0 0, Luckett 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Choice 0-0 0-0 0, Foote 8-18 1-2 19, Jackson 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 25-74 3-7 61.
HUTCHINSON: Winter 2-5 0-0 4, Ahmed 0-5 4-8 4, Budke 6-9 3-4 15, Pinder 3-8 8-10 14, Freeman 7-9 9-12 24, Bob 1-3 0-1 2, Hoffman 4-8 2-4 10, Aly 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 26-39 73.
Halftime – Hutchinson 30, Trinity Valley 24. Three-point field goals – Trinity Valley 8-30 (Williams 2-3, Foote 2-5, Hagigal 2-9, Basile 2-11, Swift 0-1, Anderson 0-1); Hutchinson 1-9 (Freeman 1-1, Bob 0-1, Ahmed 0-1, Pinder 0-1, Hoffman 0-2, Winter 0-2). Rebounds – Hutchinson 50 (Pinder 15), Trinity Valley 32 (Foote 6). Assists – Trinity Valley 13 (Basile 7), Hutchinson 12 (Ahmed, Pinder 3). Total fouls – Trinity Valley 29, Hutchinson 9. Fouled out – Williams, Jackson.
This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Hutchinson advances to NJCAA quarterfinals."