by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College got big offensive performances from Sterling Hicks and Juwan Davenport Wednesday but it wasn’t enough to knock Fort Scott off the top rung in the Jayhawk Conference.
Led by Tyler Zinn, the conference’s leading scorer, Fort Scott improved to 3-0 in Region VI play with a 79-65 home court win. Boasting the Region’s best overall record at 17-6, the Greyhounds share first place with Johnson County, a 109-77 winner over Labette Wednesday.
The Blue Devils, who fell to 7-16, return home Saturday to play host to third place Highland (2-1) in the second half of a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. The Scotties (17-6) won at Hesston 93-75 Wednesday.
Hicks scored 26 points and Davenport 22 at Fort Scott as they accounted for 15 of KCKCC’s 21 field goals. Hicks was 9-of-18 from the field including 6-of-11 3-pointers while Davenport was 6-of-10 from the field and converted 9-of-10 free throws.
The Blue Devils shot well, netting 21-of-44 shots for 47.7 percent including 9-of-18 3-pointers and 14-of-18 free throws only to have Fort Scott fire away at a sizzling 60 percent clip (30-of-50) including 10-of-21 3-pointers. The Greyhounds also controlled the rebounding, giving up just two offensive rebounds while winning the board battle 29-16.
Zinn, a 6-1 sophomore who leads the region in scoring with a 21.0-point average and is second in 3-point percentage, led Fort Scott with 26 points including 6-of-10 3-pointers.
Fort Scott built a 41-29 halftime lead and led by as many as 21 points in the second half before holding off a late KCKCC comeback that closed the deficit to 10 points.