by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
North Central Missouri got away from Kansas City Kansas Community College late in the first half on the way to a 78-52 win in the Keith Lindsey Classic Saturday night.
The loss left the Blue Devils 1-3 heading into a home contest with former Jayhawk Conference rival Allen County Tuesday at 7 p.m.
KCKCC trailed North Central just 17-14 only to be outscored 16-8 the final six minutes of the first half and trailed 33-22 at the break. The visiting Pirates (3-2) then put the game out of reach with a 9-2 second-half start that expanded the lead to 42-24.
Lack of scoring continued to plague the Blue Devils, who had only one player in double figures. Freshman Jonathan Richmond scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting but only two points came in the second half.
Tyson Beringer added eight points, four rebounds and three assists; Jalen Davis seven points and four rebounds; Malcolm Tate and Daiyon Taylor six points each; and Arother Ratliff five points.
Just 3-of-14 from three-point range for 18.8 percent, the Blue Devils were 21-of-53 for 39.6 percent from the field and only 7-of- 18 (.389) from the foul line.
Rebounding domination was also a major factor as the Pirates won the battle of the boards 44-31.
Jake Salisbury and Marty Jackson each had 15 points and Solomon Thomas 14 for North Central, which notched 18-of-34 second-half shots for 52.9 percent and finished at .509 for the game, The Pirates also won the turnover battle, committing 15 to KCKCC’s 20.
