by Alan Hoskins
Late surges at the end of both halves lifted Allen County to a 72-68 win over Kansas City Kansas Community College in Iola Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils led 34-31 only to have the Red Devils score the final seven points of the first half for a 38-34 lead and then had a 63-60 lead with 2:45 left before Allen rallied for the win.
“We made a couple of mental mistakes at the end but took a step in the right direction on learning how to play Jayhawk and Blue Devil basketball and I can live with that,” said KCKCC coach Kelley Newton.
Thanks to eight offensive rebounds and a defense that forced nine turnovers, KCKCC got 10 more shots than the Red Devils in the second only to have Allen connect on 14-of-26 for 53.8 percent to 14-of-36 for KCKCC (.389).
Lansing sophomore Joe Lendway led the Blue Devils with a double double, 15 points and a game high 10 rebounds. Mike Lee added 12 points and six assists, Jonathon Murray 10 points and Kellan Turner 8 for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils go right back on the road Thursday, playing North Central Missouri at Trenton at 7:30 p.m. before returning for a home contest Saturday at 4 p.m. against Iowa Western.
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director for KCKCC.