Cougars take down No. 4 Hutchinson
Much like the earlier meeting this season, Wednesday’s game at the Barton Gym lived up to the hype of two nationally ranked teams as the nationally receiving votes Barton Community College men’s basketball team knocked off the No. 4 ranked Hutchinson Community College 87-81. Scoring the most points against the Blue Dragons this season, Barton’s win improves their conference mark to 9-4 and 22-5 overall while Hutchinson drops to 10-2 and 24-2. The result also creates excitement down the stretch in the Jayhawk West standings as Hutchinson’s loss drops them into a time with Seward County Community while Barton’s win kept their title hopes alive and solidified their edge for the third seed. Concluding a four-game seven-day stretch, the Cougars will have a week away from competition until February 20 when Barton travels to Colby Community College for an 8:00 p.m. contest at the Colby Community Building.
The Cougars held a 9-6 early advantage until a 9-0 Hutchinson run quieted the raucous Barton Gym with 12:58 remaining. Off the bench came Barton's Shaka Thomas to drain a trey and start the Cougars on a 7-2 run to lead 21-17 at the midpoint.
Five points from reserve Kevin Kuteyi helped the Cougars build their largest lead of the first half at five with 6:21 to play. With ten first half lead changes, the Blue Dragons put together a 8-2 run to reclaim their last lead of the half at 34-32 with 3:15 on the clock.
Back-to-back three pointers by Turon Parker and Kuteyi gave Barton a 42-38 lead into intermission as the Cougars closed out on a 10-4 run.
After being tied for the game's eighth of thirteen times, Hutch's Kadeem Allen dropped a trey then scored from a D'Von Campbell steal and assist to give Hutch its largest lead of five with 16:29 to play. The Blue Dragons would again lead by five with 12:54 to play before things started to unravel for Hutch.
Hutch's Alex Davis picked up a technical foul with eleven minutes to play, then as the Cougars held a one point advantage with a little over five minutes to play, Kadeem Allen picked up a personal and technical foul arguing a call. With Barton's Raphael Stephens planted in the lane, Allen's shot released prior to contact resulting in the made basket but also resulted in three-of-four free throws by Stephens and Parker as the Cougars built a six point lead.
Reigning KJCCC player of the week Algie Key gave the Cougars it's biggest lead at seven with 4:27 to play but a 5-0 Hutch run in the next minute cut the margin to two. It would be as close as the Blue Dragons would come until things got crazy again with under a minute to play.
As Barton clung to a three point lead with twenty seconds remaining and Hutch in possession, the Blue Dragons' Tafari Whittingham was whistled for a flagrant foul and subsequent ejection for head-butting the Cougars Raheem Johnson. Johnson made one-of-two free throws then Key connected on two-of-four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Kevin Kuteyi led four Cougars in double-digits with nineteen, fittingly coming on the two-year anniversary of his mother's death to cancer as Barton celebrated "Pink Out Night" for cancer awareness. Raheem Johnson played huge for the Cougars posting his second career double-double with eighteen points and fourteen rebounds to go along with three blocks and a steal. Lost in the celebration was the moving of Algie Key up the career scoring charts to seventh all-time as his eighteen points moved him past Eric Bush's mark set in the 1999-01 seasons. Turon Parker rounded out the double-digit scoring with fifteen points while dishing out three assists against one turnover in thirty-nine minutes of play.
Kadeem Allen's eighteen points led four Dragons in double-digit scoring. D'Von Cambell, who didn't play against the Cougars in their first meeting, scored sixteen while A.J. Spencer and Rozell Nunn scored fifteen and ten points respectively.
