By John Mesh
The Hutchinson girls and boys basketball teams both posted come-from behind victories in makeup games Friday night at Salina South.
The games were postponed twice because of weather.
The Hutchinson Salthawk girls came from behind to defeat Salina South 44-35 and the Salthawk boys rallied for a 50-47 win.
The Hutchinson girls trailed 12-4 early in the first quarter, 15-9 at the end of the frame and 23-19 at halftime.
Hutchinson took a 30-26 lead in the third quarter, but the Cougars scored the final 5 points of the frame to lead 31-30.
Hutchinson, playing its third game in five days, outscored the Cougars 14-4 in the fourth quarter.
Kaia Smith led Hutchinson with 15 points, including a key 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Kohlbie Craft, Grace Posch and Ava Krone each scored 8 points.
“We fought back from a slow start to beat Salina South by 9 points in the regular season finale,” said Hutchinson High School girls basketball Kalen Hilst. “Kaia Smith had 15 and multiple others chipped in as well.”
The Hutchinson girls improved to 14-6. The Cougar girls dropped to 9-11.
The Hutchinson girls likely will be the No. 8 seed in the Class 5A West sub-state and likely will host Andover Central at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Salthawk Activities Center.
The Hutchinson boys led 11-7 at the end of the first quarter but were outscored 13-4 in the second quarter and trailed at halftime 20-15.
Salina South led 36-32 at the end of the third quarter. Hutchinson outscored the Cougars 18-11 in the fourth quarter for the 3-point victory.
The Hutchinson boys evened their record at 10-10 and the Cougar boys dropped to 7-14.
Terrell King led the Salthawks with 18 points. Lamar Govain scored 14 points (including 8 in the third quarter). Taishaun Govain added 11 points.
Hutchinson committed one turnover in the second half after committing 13 in the first half. Salina South committed 10 turnovers in each half.
“We weren’t mentally tough in the first half,” said Hutchinson High School boys basketball coach Bryan Miller during his postgame radio interview. “We challenged them at halftime and they responded.
“Great players thrive in these moments. It was a total team effort. We did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half.”
Full sub-state basketball pairings for Kansas Class 5A will be announced Saturday morning by the KSHSAA.
Haven boys advance to 3A Halstead sub-state semifinals
The Haven boys defeated Riley County 62-43 in the first round of the Kansas 3A Halstead sub-state tournament Friday night at Haven.
Haven improved to 18-3 and will host Wichita Collegiate (16-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Riley County’s season ended with a 5-15 record.
Halstead lost to Wichita Collegiate 83-48 in a first-round game at Wichita. Halstead finished the season with a 7-14 record.
Collegiate led 24-10 at the end of the first quarter, 49-29 at halftime and 69-43 at the end of the third quarter.
In the Class 3A boys Scott City Sub-State #1 game played at Lakin, Nickerson’s season ended with an 87-28 loss to Lakin.
Nickerson trailed Lakin 21-11 at the end of the first quarter and 42-18 at halftime. Lakin pushed the lead 72-24 at the end of third quarter. Lakin outscored the Panthers 15-4 in the final quarter.
The Nickerson boys finished the season with a 2-19 record. Lakin, the No. 6 seed in Class 3A, improved to 20-1.
Also in the Class 3A Scott Community Sub-State #2, the Lyons boys season came to an end with a 60-52 loss to Norton Community Friday at Norton. Lyons finished the season with a 9-11 record.
In the Class 2A Girls Moundridge Sub-State, the Inman Teutons defeated Sedgwick 62-18 and will play Berean Academy in the semifinals at Inman Wednesday. Berean Academy defeated Wichita Central Christian Academy 38-33 Friday at Elbing.
Hutchinson Trinity Catholic lost at Bennington 55-19. Hutchinson Trinity’s girls finished the season with a 2-19 record. Bennington (18-3) will host Classical School of Wichita (12-9) in the other semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Wichita Classical defeated Marion 43-35 in a first-round game.
In a Class 2A Girls Sublette Sub-State game at Colby Friday, Sterling lost to Hoxie 77-41. Sterling finished the season with a 4-17 record. Hoxie improved to 18-3 and will play Oakley (16-6) in one semifinal Wednesday.
The other Wednesday semifinal features Leoti-Wichita County (20-1) against Hays-Thomas More Prep-Marian (13-9). Leoti defeated Sublette 76-25 and TMP defeated Medicine Lodge 51-26.
Hutchinson Blue Dragon men’s golf team ranked No. 2
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College men’s golf team opens its 2025 spring season on Monday and Tuesday at the Arkansas-Fort Smith Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Blue Dragons start the spring season ranked No. 2 in the Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Division I Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Friday.
The Blue Dragons received one first-place vote in the latest rankings. Midland had 10 first-place vote and remained No. 1 in the poll.
The top three teams all remained the same from the last fall poll released – No. 1 Midland, No. 2 Hutchinson and No. 3 Odessa. Indian Hills jumped up three spots to No. 4 and Central Alabama moved up one spot to No. 5.
Garden City is ranked ninth in the first spring poll of the season. Dodge City is receiving votes.
Midland, Hutchinson and Odessa are the top three teams in the Clippd/Scoreboard NJCAA Division I team rankings. Central Alabama is fourth and Indian Hills is fifth.
The Blue Dragons won two fall tournaments – The Bent Tree Invitational and the NJCAA National Preview and had five Top 10 team finishes in the fall season.
Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Division I Coaches’ Poll
1. Midland (10) 109 1
2. Hutchinson (1) 100 2
3. Odessa 76 3
4. Indian Hills 66 7
5. Central Alabama 62 6
6. McLennan 56 T4
7. Western Texas 52 T4
8. New Mexico JC 43 8
9. Garden City 18 10
10. Eastern Florida State 8 RV
Others Receiving Votes: Tyler (6), Weatherford (4), Blinn (3), Dodge City (1).