After a long-awaited break from the court, the Kansas City Kansas Community College men’s basketball team returned to play Monday inside the KCKCC Fieldhouse where they hung on for an 82-70 win over North Central Missouri College.
KCKCC is now 9-6 overall on the season.
The Blue Devils opened the game on a strong run as they led 18-0 to start. North Central Missouri cut the deficit to single digits, but the Blue Devils went back up into the double-digit lead after Cortez Howlett sank two free throws to give the team a 27-17 lead.
The Pirates climbed all the way back toward the end of the half, making it 39-34 Blue Devils before KCKCC went on a 6-3 run to close the half at a 45-37 score.
Howlett put the team ahead by double-digits after he sank a three-pointer making it 51-40 with 17:43 left. Bradley Lightbourne, Caleb Jones and Howlett later connected on three straight baskets to put the team up 20 points. They held onto that lead and ran away with the win down the stretch.
Lightbourne led the team with 28 points and Howlett added 20.
KCKCC is back in action on Saturday when it plays host to Labette Community College at the KCKCC Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
- From Tyler Scott, sports information director, KCKCC