by Alan Hoskins
Kansas City Kansas Community College threw a scare into Hesston’s conference leaders Monday before the Larks turned back a late Blue Devil rally for a 73-63 win.
Trailing by as many as 13 points early in the second half, the Blue Devils closed to 61-57 with four minutes to go only to have Hesston pull away on four free throws and a pair of layups for a 69-59 lead with 1:11 remaining.
The win improved Hesston’s lead in the Division II standings at 4-1 while the Blue Devils fell to 1-2 and 11-6 overall heading into a road game at Coffeyville, the No. 16 ranked team in Division I with a 16-2 record.
The Blue Devils got a big game out of sophomore Babajide Aina, who led all scorers and rebounders with 21 points and 11 rebounds along with a game high five steals. Ray Ridley and CJ Vallejo added 11 points each for the Blue Devils, who were 17-of-44 for 38.8 percent. The Larks used 51 percent shooting the second half in improving to 10-6.
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director for KCKCC.