A disappointing loss last night in Hutchinson has knocked the Pratt Community College men into a four-way tie for fourth place in the Jayhawk West, and due to the NJCAA Region VI tiebreaking system, the Beavers will have to open the postseason on the road for a third straight year.
Pratt led 19-13 after Trae Beck turned a simple putback into a three-point play at the 6:59 mark of the first half, but an 8-0 Hutchinson run put the Dragons on top 27-25 late in the half and Hutch held a 29-28 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Dragons suddenly started to break away from Pratt, using the free throw line as their main weapon.
Hutch shot 16 free throws to Pratt’s five in the first 13:25 of the second half.
Through all the foul trouble — Jay Valerius was whistled for his fourth foul with 14:53 left and Illi Baldwin was called for his fourth at the 10:52 mark — the Beavers were still in the game.
A layup by Marcus Smith with 11:11 on the clock tied the game at 46.
On the next trip, Baldwin blocked a James Stewart shot, only to hear the dreaded whistle blow, calling him for foul number four.
Stewart made both free throws, but Trent Thomas answered with a driving layup at the 10:38 mark.
The Dragons then scored six straight before PCC coach Trevor Rolfs sent Valerius back into the game.
Almost immediately, Valerius posted up and scored in the paint to make it 54-50 Hutch with 8:31 left.
After a bucket by Hutchinson’s Adonis Gantt, Baldwin stepped outside and drained a three to make it 56-53 Dragons with 7:11 on the clock.
Gantt converted a three-point play, but Thomas came right back with a drive to the basket and two more of his team-high 18 points.
At the other end, Stewart drew a foul — the fourth on Thomas — and missed both free throws.
But, the 6-1 freshman got his own rebound and was sent back to the free throw line when Baldwin was whistled for his fifth foul.
Stewart hit both of those free throws for a 61-55 lead with 6:35 left.
It was the start of a 7-0 Hutch run, and by the time Thomas converted a three-point play at the 3:31 mark, the Beavers were in a 70-60 hole.
To make things even worse, while the teams lined up for Hutch freshman Joe Mitchell to shoot two more free throws with 3:08 left — Pratt’s tenth team foul was called with over seven minutes left in the game — a then-quiet Rolfs was assessed a technical foul.
Mitchell hit all four free throws and the Beavers were forced to start playing some serious catch-up.
Hutch put the finishing touches on the win with Bruce Reed’s three-point play at the 2:35 mark, which made it 77-60.
The Beavers suited just nine players for the game, and seven of them scored.
Thomas led the charge with 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals while stepping into the starting point guard position.
Baldwin added 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, while Beck finished with nine points and four steals.
Smith chipped in nine rebounds and three assists while Taner Hayes had two assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Pratt was whistled for 27 fouls — 20 of them in the second half — while Hutchinson finished with just 16 fouls — nine in the second half.
Hutchinson shot 30 free throws to Pratt’s 16, and the edge was 27-10 in the second half.
PCC (18-11, 7-8) will host Barton County in Saturday’s home finale. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
It is another must-win game if the Beavers hope to stay tied for fourth in the West and avoid having to open the playoffs at one of the Jayhawk East’s top three teams.
Pratt’s first-round destination will depend on the results of Saturday’s games involving the Beavers, Cloud County, Dodge City, Garden City, and a host of Jayhawk East teams.
No. 11 Hutchinson 85, Pratt 63
PCC: Trent Thomas 7-20 4-5 18, Illiwa Baldwin 5-8 4-6 15, Trae Beck 3-10 1-1 9, Marcus Smith 3-10 0-0 7, Jay Valerius 3-6 1-1 7, John Rutherford 2-7 0-1 6, Shaquille Hall 0-1 1-2 1, Taner Hayes 0-4 0-0 0, Jamar Reese 0-3 0-0 0. TOTALS 23-69 11-16 63.
HCC: Joe Mitchell 8-14 4-9 20, James Stewart 6-16 6-9 19, Bruce Reed 5-8 2-4 14, Leon Flowers 4-6 1-1 10, Adonis Gantt 3-5 1-1 7, Josh Davis 2-6 1-1, Cortez Barrett 1-3 3-3 5, Cortez Barnes 2-3 0-0 4, Garrius Holloman 0-3 1-2 1, Dylan Frantz 0-4 0-0 0, Dorrian Roberts 0-0 0-0 0, Elhadji Wade 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 31-68 19-30 85.
PCC 28 35 — 63
HCC 29 56 — 85
3-point goals — PCC 6-30 (Beck 2-8, Rutherford 2-6, Baldwin 1-2, Smith 1-6, Hayes 0-1, Reese 0-2, Thomas 0-5), HCC 4-12 (Reed 2-3, Flowers 1-2, Stewart 1-2, Mitchell 0-1, Davis 0-1). Rebounds — PCC 48 (Baldwin 11), HCC 45 (Reed 8). Assists — PCC 11 (Thomas 5), HCC 13 (Frantz 5). Turnovers — PCC 21, HCC 14. Total fouls — PCC 27, HCC 16. Fouled out — Baldwin, Valerius, Davis. Technicals — Pratt bench.
