Saints battle, but fall at Hutchinson, 67-50

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The struggles for the Seward County Community College men's basketball continued with a 67-50 road loss at Hutchinson Community College Wednesday.

The Saints suffered their sixth straight loss, falling to 1-10 in the Jayhawk Conference and 2-14 overall. SCCC plays Saturday at 4 p.m. at Garden City.

Seward battled tough as it has all season long and Wednesday was no exception. The Saints were competitive, holding a 16-11 lead midway through the first half and 27-24 advantage with under four minutes remaining. The Blue Dragons stayed close with a barrage of tough three-pointers and closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 34-29 lead.

The Saints could not gain much traction in the second half, trailing by as many as nine and closing to within five, but unable to get a push to get closer. Hutchinson ended the game by scoring the final 11 points.

Muhammed Jobe powered the Saints with 20 points and seven rebounds. Benni Kazadi scored 11 points, Kiku Parker chipped in eight points and N'faba Mane netted seven points.

The season has been tough for the Saints, who have been short-handed, and things did not get better as they played without injured sophomore Lovasoa Andriatsarafara Wednesday. The center from Madagascar has been averaging 6.4 points and 6.0 rebounds.

Dimitrius Dudley had 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Khalil Arnold and Bobby Cannon each scored 11 points for Hutchinson, which won its sixth straight game. The Blue Dragons improved to 8-3 in conference play and 12-5 overall.