Dodge City men's basketball looked to continue its strong play but ran into a Hutchinson team that had a strong shooting night, as the Conquistadors dropped an 82-66 matchup at home. 

The loss drops the Conqs to 8-4 on the season and 4-2 in KJCCC action. 

Over the first three minutes, it was a slow start for both teams, but the action picked up as both teams shot over 40% from the floor in the first half. Tied at 5-5 the Conqs got a Rickey Loftin II three-pointer and a Javyion Nurse jumper to go on a quick 5-0 run to lead 10-5 nearly five minutes into the contest. Hutchinson would counter with the next six points to take an 11-10 advantage, and the first half continued with small runs by each team with several lead changes. The lead would never grow to more than five either way, and the Blue Dragons would score the final four points of the first half to lead 35-30 at intermission. 

Early in the second half, the Conqs pushed to try and draw even or take the lead again, but Hutchinson had answers. Blue Dragons put together a 10-4 run to lead by double figures for the first time on the night at 55-45 with 13:25 remaining and then continued to grow the lead, ultimately working it to 20 on their way to the 82-66 win over the Conqs. 

While the Conqs shot 41.3% from the floor, they were just 5-23 from three-point range and only had 11 free throw attempts. Hutchinson finished the night shooting 48.4% and 54.8% in the second half while winning the rebounding edge by seven. 

Nurse paced the Conqs with 14 points on 6-12 shooting, while Derrick Rivers and Loftin II each chipped in 12 points. Rivers added six rebounds and four assists to his night. Brad Johnson tallied 10 points for the Conqs. 

The Conqs will travel to Pratt on Saturday, December 13th, for a 4:00 pm tip for their final game before the holiday break.