by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Any win on the road in the Jayhawk Conference is big but Kansas City Kansas Community College coach Kelley Newton may look back on the Blue Devils’ 59-56 triumph at Highland Wednesday as one of the year’s best.
The conference opener for both teams, the win put the Blue Devils (11-6) in position to take the lead in the league race with a home win over Johnson County Saturday at 4 p.m. Ranked No. 6 in the NJCCC Division II national poll, JCCC ran its record to 15-2 win a 74-66 win over Southeast Nebraska Wednesday.
“Should be a great game,” said KCKCC coach Kelley Newton. “Ranked team, great rivalry, conference and regional opponent, bragging rights. They’ll come in ready and we’ll be ready.”
The Blue Devils led at Highland 52-45 with less than 5½ minutes left only to fall behind 56-53 before pitching a shutout the final three minutes.
A short jump shot by Jonathan Murray – KCKCC’s only field goal in the final 6:22 of play – cut the deficit to 56-55 with 1:23 left and Mike Lee put the Blue Devils ahead with a pair of free throws with 1:06 remaining.
Highland got off a pair of go-ahead shot attempts after Lee misfired on two free throws following a steal at the 52.1 second mark, rebounding the first miss to set up a game-winning try in the final seconds.
However, Brandon Hasim missed badly on a 3-point try from the corner and the Blue Devils got possession on a jump ball. Just two of seven from the foul line in the final three minutes, the Blue Devils’ Kellan Turner went to the foul line and clinched the win with two free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining.
“A great win on the road and a great way to open up the conference,” Newton said. “Getting the jump ball at the end was big and Kellan made the free throws that counted. I thought Highland had a great game plan and executed it well. They took us out of the things we wanted to do but we made one or two more plays that made the difference. It certainly put me on high alert on what to expect the rest of the way.”
Sophomore Dehven Talley of Shawnee Mission Northwest was the catalyst in the win, drilling his first six 3-point attempts before a lone miss in a career high and game high 20-point performance. He also had five rebounds and two assists. “Dehven’s shooting was huge and really kept us in the game, especially the first half,” Newton said.
Turner added 16 points and three assists and Murray 11 points and five rebounds for the Blue Devils, who were outrebounded 27-23 and outshot from the field (.468-.388). However, the Blue Devils were guilty of only 12 turnovers while forcing 18 and committed just 11 fouls, sending the Scotties to the free throw line just seven times.
“Defensively, we did a good job of keeping the ball out of the paint, moved our feet and used less hands,” Newton said. “And our guards did a good job of sticking to the defensive game plan.
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.