In their first national tournament game in school history, the Blue Devils matched up with South Suburban who came into the game averaging nearly 95 points per game. Blue Devil head coach Kelley Newton knew it would be a tough task but said his players would be prepared.
In the first half, it was a slow start on the offensive side for both teams. Jonathan Murray made the first field goal for the Blue Devils three minutes into the game. Murray continued to lead the way through most of the first half helping the Blue Devils to an 8-point lead with six minutes to go in the first.
South Suburban went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 22-22 with three minutes left in the first. The Blue Devils answered when after almost four minutes without a bucket, Mike Lee Jr. made a shot.
“Every time South Suburban went on a run, we answered.” Newton added. To end the half, Murray knocked down 3 free throws to lead 27-24 at the break.
In the beginning of the second half, neither team could pull away with a lead. With 16 minutes to go in the game, it was tied 31-31, and South Suburban went on a 10-2 run to take a small lead. Once again the Blue Devils had an answer and shrunk the deficit in half.
South Suburban kept pushing the pace and trying to take over the game but the KCK defense kept them in check. As the game started to wind down, the Blue Devils had come back and were only down 3 with just under three minutes left in the game. Armoni Shorter came up big with a 3-point jump shot to tie the game at 50-50.
With two minutes left in the game, Joe Lendway missed on a crucial second chance opportunity. South Suburban drove down and made a shot to go up 52-50. After a Blue Devil turnover, it turned into a free throw shooting contest and South Suburban hit them all to win the game 57-50.
“South Suburban is a great team and we held them to 57 points, we didn’t lose because we weren’t prepared, we just need to make more plays,” Newton said. The Blue Devils moved into the consolation bracket and played Cecil College at 1 p.m. today, dropping that contest, 80-67.
“It was good to get this game in and feel what the national tournament is like,” Newton said.
– Story from Jason Browar, KCKCC