byAlan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
Kansas City Kansas Community College got a much-needed halftime wake up-call on the way to a come-from-behind 74-66 win over Central Community College Saturday in Columbus, Nebraska.
Down by as many as 13 points early, the Blue Devils trailed 43-32 heading into halftime.
“We got off to a slow start after the long bus ride and were down 11 with three players with three fouls,” KCKCC coach Brandon Burgette said. “Even as bad as our first half was, we were just a few possessions away. But we weren’t playing up to our potential and we called that to their attention at halftime.”
What Burgette said worked. The Blue Devils scored the first 10 points of the second half to cut their deficit to 43-42 and set off a furious race to the finish. KCKCC built a 63-67 lead with 7:50 left, wiping out a one-point CCC lead with a 3-pointer by Deron McDaniel and two Caleb Jones layups.
The Raiders went back ahead 66-63 with 3:12 left – but didn’t score again as the Blue Devils scored the last 11 points. Field goals by Trey Bates and Robert Rhodes put KCKCC in front 67-66 with 1:55 left and McDaniel’s 3-pointer and two free throws in the final minute clinched the win.
McDaniel, who was good on five of eight 3-point attempts, had 17 points and Jones 16 on 7-of-8 shooting to lead the way. Bates and DeAngelo Bell added 11 points each and Shayon Janboo 9 on 3-of-3 3-point attempts. Rhodes had 10 rebounds and Jones five although the Blue Devils lost the rebounding battle 35-27.
However, KCKCC forced 16 turnovers while committing 10 and shot well – 10-of-24 from 3-point for 41.7 percent and 12-of-14 free throws (.857) in finishing 26-of-57 (.456) overall. Meanwhile, the Raiders were 23-of-58 (.397) and just 11-of-19 from the foul line.
“Caleb Jones stepped up the second half and Zach Nelson and McDaniel gave us huge spot minutes off the bench,” Burgette said. “And we got some stops to score on the other end and put more pressure on them to keep the ball out of the paint. CCC is a good team with guards who can jump up and make shots. There are a couple of things we have to tune up before conference play but we did a good job dominating the second half.”
The Blue Devils open at home Monday, as hosts of Link Year Prep at 7 p.m., and are home again Thursday against Park University junior varsity in a 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. doubleheader.