by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
Hesston absorbed one lethal punch but not a second as Kansas City Kansas Community College stormed to a 109-62 win Wednesday night.
The win evened the Blue Devils’ Jayhawk Conference record at 1-1 and 8-6 overall heading into a home showdown Saturday with No. 15 ranked Highland (7-3) in the second half of a doubleheader. The games at 2 and 4 p.m. will be streamed on the KCKCC Blue Devil website.
KCKCC jumped in front of Hesston 15-3 and led 32-10 halfway through the first half only to have the Larks close the halftime gap to nine points at 45-36.
However, they would get no closer as the Blue Devils started the second half with a 25-6 blitz for a 70-42 lead, a lead that widened to 47 points as the Blue Devils out-scored Hesston 64-26 in the second half.
“Proud of the way our guys bounced back; a good win coming off a loss,” KCKCC coach Brandon Burgette said. “Even better we had several guys in double figures. Defensively, we sped them up and caused them to have 25 turnovers.”
Four Blue Devils scored 13 or more points, three off the bench as non-starters combined for 63 of KCKCC’s 109 points. Harmon’s DeAngelo Bell had 23 points, Deron McDaniel 19, Ezekiel Lyons a career high 17 and Bryce Johnson 13 as they combined for 72 points. Caleb Jones and Shayn Jonloo each added eight points and Robert Rhodes and Jermaine Yarbough six apiece.
The Blue Devils shot the ball extremely well, 42-of-75 from the field for 56 percent and 17-of-35 from 3-point (.486). Lyons was a sizzling 5-of-6 from 3-point; McDaniel 4-of-7; and Bell 3-of-5.
“I thought we shot the ball well,” Burgette said. “Making 17 3-poiners is great and we did a good job of sharing the ball. A big step in the right direction for Saturday.”
Jones led all rebounders with 13 as KCKCC won the battle of the boards 43-32, Jones and McDaniel led in assists with six each, Zach Nelson had four.
Defensively, the Blue Devils converted Hesston’s 25 turnovers into 35 points and held the Larks to 36.8 percent shooting.
In other Jayhawk games Wednesday, Johnson County (11-1) took sole possession of first place with an 88-76 win over Fort Scott and Highland defeated Labette 73-68.