HUTCHINSON — An injury-riddled Red Devil roster was too decimated to make a second-half push at Hutchinson Community College on Wednesday in the first round of the Region VI Tournament.
The Blue Dragons outscored the Red Devils 28-10 in the final 10 minutes of the game, capturing a 92-64 win over ACC. The win is Hutchinson’s 13th straight in the opening round of the Region VI tournament.
There were 11 lead changes and eight ties in the first 15 minutes of the game, with neither team leading by more than three points.
ACC’s Malik Hardmon scored a season-high 39 points against the Blue Dragons on Jan. 4 when ACC beat Hutchinson. On Wednesday, Hardmon led once again with 23 points on 15 attempts from the floor. The only other Red Devil to finish in double figures was Trez Hakins with 18 points.
Hakins’ hot shooting included four first-half 3-pointers to help ACC stay within reach at the half. The Red Devils trailed 35-43 at intermission.
To start the second half, ACC trimmed the Blue Dragon lead to three after scoring five points on back-to-back Hutchinson turnovers. However, that would be the closest ACC came the rest of the way.
A Blue Dragon trey with 12:04 remaining gave Hutchinson a 64-50 lead. After two consecutive buckets from Hardmon to bring the Red Devils within 10, the Blue Dragons engineered a 20-8 Dragon run that saw the lead balloon to 26 points at 84-58.
With the loss, Hutchinson is now 44-9 all-time against Allen, 23-8 in Hutchinson and 6-1 in the Region VI Tournament. The Red Devils finish the season with a 16-16 record.
