Hutt Hits Game Winner As Hawks Defeat Beavers

SACRAMENTO (1-18) – The Hawks traveled north to take on American River College. Khari Hutt hit a floater with 5.1 seconds left as the Hawks defeated the Beavers 71-70.

Both teams lost their last game. The Hawks lost 86-79 to Sierra College on Tuesday in Sacramento while the Beavers lost 83-74 to Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa on Tuesday.

In the first half, both teams played at back and forth pace. The highlight of the half came in the late minutes of the first half, American River appeared to have a drive to down the lane, but Brandon Gray sprinted from behind to make a block off the backboard, Paul Ohiri secured the rebound and quickly passed the ball to Khari Hutt. Hutt immediately sent a long cross-court pass to Marcus Robinson who took one dribble toward the rim. Robinson tossed a perfect alley-oop to Drew Buggs for an emphatic two-handed dunk. The two teams went into halftime tied at 36-36.

In the second half, the back and forth pace continued. With the Hawks leading 46-40 with under thirteen minutes to play, the Beavers went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game, at 47-46, and forced a Hawks timeout. Out of the timeout, Hutt got a steal and a transition lay-up to take the lead back for the Hawks. On the ensuring Beavers' possession, Ohiri got a timely block and rebound to give the ball back to the Hawks. Hutt scored on a runner in the lane over two defenders for a 50-47 lead. From there, the teams traded the lead back and forth as both teams kept battling for an edge. The Hawks would then go on a 7-0 run to give the Hawks a 59-55 lead with 5:23 left. The Beavers would respond with a 6-0 run of their own but Robinson answered with two free-throws and Hutt had a steal that led to an alley-oop dunk to Buggs to give the Hawks the lead. The two teams would trade baskets over the last few minutes of regulation. The Beavers took the lead at 66-65 with 1:24 left. Robinson scored on the next possession with a floater in the lane over a defender for a 67-66 lead. The Beavers took the lead back with two free throws with fifty-nine seconds left. Gray split two defenders for a scoring shot in the paint to give the Hawks a 69-68 lead with thirty-eight seconds left. The Beavers drew a foul on the next possession and made both free throws with twenty-one seconds left to lead 70-69. With 5.1 seconds remaining, Hutt scored on a floater to give the Hawks a 71-70 lead. The Beavers' Jermaine Henderson had an off-balance scoop shot under Buggs' arm that fell short as the Hawks won.

The win marked the Hawks' third in fourth games.

Robinson had twenty-two points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks, Buggs had a double-double with fifteen points and eleven rebounds. Buggs also had one steal. Ohiri had ten points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal and Hutt had ten points, seven rebounds, seven assists, one block and three steals

The next game for the Hawks is Friday as they take on Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill on Friday at 7:30 pm.