by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College couldn’t quite catch up but the Blue Devils gave No. 6 ranked North Iowa Area Community College a heck of a scare in a 100-95 loss Friday night.
Trailing by as many as 25 points in the second half, the Blue Devils got to within four points with 1:37 left only to miss a pair of free throws and the unbeaten Trojans (3-0) escaped from the free throw line. It was the third straight game NIACC scored 100 points.
The loss was the first for the Blue Devils (1-1), who return to action Saturday against Ellsworth at 1 p.m. in the Konigsmark Klassic played in Mason City, Iowa.
“Proud of the way our guys battled back being down 25 points and cutting the lead to four,” KCKCC coach Brandon Burgette said. “If we take away two technicals, we are sitting in a good spot despite the 28 turnovers and the 18 missed layups in the first half.”
Sophomores Jalen Davis and Sevon Witt led the way with a combined 50 points. A 6-4 forward from Houston, Davis had a career high 30 points on 10 of 19 shooting along with eight rebounds while 6-8 Washburn transfer Sevon Witt had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman Robert Rhodes of Park Hill South also had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Veteran Calvin Slaughter added 11 points and freshman Jermaine Yarbough seven.
KCKCC had a 64-49 rebounding advantage but the Trojans were 37-of-75 for 49.3 percent from the floor to 40.2 percent (33-of-82) for KCKCC. Also, the Blue Devils were just 5-of-17 from 3-point.
NIACC took advantage of 20 KCKCC turnovers and 34.1 percent shooting to open a 55-38 halftime lead.
“NIACC did a good job making you play fast and sending one guy down the floor when we shot the ball,” Burgette said. “We also got sped up the first half, couldn’t get into our offense and didn’t do a good job of scoring in transition.”
The Blue Devils scored 57 points in the second, outscoring the Trojans 57- 45 in closing to within four points.
“The second half we cut the turnovers down (8), made some adjustments and showed some toughness to grind our way back,” he said. “I was proud of the way the way they competed. They’re going to learn from it and move on. The best thing we get to turn around in less than 24 hours and play a good Ellsworth team.”
KCKCC closes out a season-opening four-game road trip at Allen County Tuesday at 7 p.m. before returning home for the Keith Lindsey Classic against Cowley County on Friday (8 p.m.) and North Central Missouri Saturday (6 p.m.).