by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
The depth of Kansas City Kansas Community College’s men’s basketball team was never more evident than in a down-to-the-wire 72-69 win at Metropolitan Community College Thursday night.
Reserves provided 43 of the Blue Devils’ 72 points and they needed every one of them as the Wolves had a game-tying 3-point shot bounce off the back of the rim as time ran out in another typical furiously fought battle between the two long-time rivals.
The win was the third in a row for the Blue Devils (5-5), clinched a sweep of their two-game series with Metro and a chance to get above the .500 mark in a just-added doubleheader with Graceland junior varsity Saturday in Lamoni, Iowa. The women will tip off at 2 p.m.; the men at 4 p.m.
“Our bench stepped up big for us,” KCKCC coach Brandon Burgette said. ”We’ve been off for seven days and it looked like it just getting back in a flow. Our guys played hard and stepped up in key moments. We had to back in our groove and set the tone for next week when the conference season opens.”
Metro might have grabbed control of the game in the first half had it not been for thee KCKCC bench, which scored 25 of the 30 points in trailing 35-30 at the half.
Taking advantage of numerous Blue Devil misses, the Wolves jumped off to a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes before Caleb Jones, Trey Bates and Shayon Janloo provided spark off the bench. Jones had 10 points, Bates 8 and Janloo 5 as the Blue Devils survived 33.3 percent shooting (11-of-33) from the field and .250 from 3-point (3-of-12).
The Blue Devils surged ahead to start the second half, getting a pair of field goals each from Zack Nelson, DeAngelo Bell, Bryce Johnson and Jones to open a 48-43 lead. It was 53-50 midway through the second half when two Jermaine Yarbough goals, one on a jarring dunk on a pass from Nelson, and a Nelson fast break layup opened a 60-50 lead.
It was 70-59 with 5:05 left only to have the Wolves close to 70-68 with 3:00 to go before Janloo provided what was to be the winner with a short range shot with 2:40 left and the Blue Devils held on through shoddy free throwing by both sides. The Wolves made one of four in the closing minutes, the Blue Devils clunked a pair that would have avoided Metro’s final last ditch try.
Jones led KCKCC with a double double, 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds; Janloo and Bel1 points added 11 points each; Yarbough 9, Bates 8, Johnson 6 and Nelson 5 along with five assists, several on outstanding deliveries.
The Blue Devils won the rebound battle 42-35 with Robert Rhodes adding eight and Bates eight. They also had 16 turnovers, nine in the second half, but were also 18-for-29 for a sizzling 62.1 percent in a see-saw battle that had two ties and 11 lead changes..
Metro, which had five players in double figures, got up 10 mores shots but made just 24-of 72 for 33.3 percent and 7-of-25 from 3-point (.280).
At home against North Central Missouri Tuesday, the Blue Devils open Jayhawk Conference play a week from Saturday at Johnson County.
