by Alan Hoskins
Kansas City Kansas Community College got its first men’s basketball win Monday night but it didn’t come easy.
Leading 66-64 with less than three minutes remaining, the Blue Devils closed with an 11-2 run for a 77-66 win over the University of Saint Mary’s junior varsity. KCKCC will go after a second win Friday when the Blue Devils are host to “Livin’ The Dream” at 7 p.m.
The Blue Devils’ closing run was ignited by a 15-foot jump shot by freshman Xavier Ganoa followed by three big plays by 6-9 frosh Jonathan Murray, who sandwiched a pair of rebound field goals with a blocked shot 72-64 lead. Dehaven Talley then closed out the 11-2 run with two free throws and a basket.
“This was a very good win,” said KCKCC coach Kelley Newton. “Saint Mary shoots the ball very well and we had to overcome some adversities.” Saint Mary led 32-30 at halftime and the Blue Devils had to shoot 54.1 percent and outrebound the Spires 25-18 in the second half to pull away.
Four Blue Devils scored in double figures with sophs Joe Lendway and Talley leading the way with 15 points each. Murray added 14 and Ganoa 10 for KCKCC, which shot 48.5 percent for the game.
Armoni Shorter and Murray each had eight rebounds to give KCKCC a 44-35 rebounding edge while Kellan Turner handed out seven assists and Mike Lee chipped in with five assists, six rebounds and seven points.
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.