by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
Snake-bitten the early part of the 2021 basketball season, Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Blue Devils turned to being the viper Thursday night.
After suffering four losses that came down to the final seconds, the Blue Devils edged No. 13 ranked Southeast Community College in a down-to-the-wire overtime 79-75 thriller in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The win avenged an 89-82 loss to the Storm just eight days ago and elevated KCKCC season’s record to 4-5 heading into a road game at Park University junior varsity Monday at 7 p.m. and a return doubleheader with Metropolitan Community College on the Penn Valley campus Thursday, Feb. 18.
Trailing Southeast 75-73 with 1:25, DeAngelo Bell’s layup pulled KCKCC even and set up the biggest play of the game. Grabbing his fifth defensive rebound of the game, freshman Trey Bates went end-to-end to lay in a layup at the rim with 1:04 remaining and followed 25 seconds later with two free throws to ice it.
Bates was joined in the limelight by a host of other Blue Devils. Bell made two free throws and a 3-pointer to give KCKCC a 65-64 lead with 1:48 left; Deron McDaniel made two free throws with 41 seconds left to force overtime; Robert Rhodes had two free throws and Jermaine Yarbough a rebound goal to give KCKCC a 73-71 lead in overtime.
Leading by as many as 15 points early, the Blue Devils still had a 50-37 advantage when the Storm surged back with a 15-4 run to close to 54-52. A layup and 3-pointer by Bryce Johnson sandwiched around a Bates layup rebuilt the lead to 60-54 only to have the Storm go ahead for the first time 61-60 and set up furious race to the finish.
“A great job by our guys,” KCKCC coach Brandon Burgette said. “Winning is hard; winning is tough. We have been in many games just like this tonight where we’ve had to learn and grow. Proud of how our guys stayed together and didn’t fold. We went on stretches where we struggled and didn’t score and they made a great run at us. But certain guys stepped up at the right time when needed. Now we have to continue the streak.”
Blue Devil defensive rebounding played a huge role in the win. Facing four front-liners ranging in height from 6-8 to 6-11, KCKCC had been outscored 60-38 in the paint in the first meeting. But with Rhodes (12 rebounds), Yarbough (10) and McDaniel (9) leading the way, the Blue Devils had a whopping 34-11 superiority on the defensive boards.
McDaniel led the Blue Devils, knocking down five 3-pointers in a 21-point effort that also included a career-high nine rebounds and four assists. Bates had 14 points, three steals and three assists; Bell 11 points and three assists; and Yarbough just missed a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Field goal shooting, however, left much to be desired. The Blue Devils shot a season low 33.8 percent from the field (27-80) and 8-for-28 from 3-point (.286), missing numerous opportunities to break the game open when the led 39-27 at halftime. Fortunately, the Storm was no better against a harassing Blue Devil defense, converting only 4-of-24 3-pointers (.169) and shooting .375 for the game.