by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
The book on the 2017-18 Kansas City Kansas Community College men’s basketball team will show an 8-23 record. What it won’t show is the fight and determination of a half-dozen never-say-die Blue Devils.
Their roster trimmed to six players as a result of rules infractions by seven players including three double-digit scorers, the ‘Super Six’ as dubbed by the Kansas City Star defied all the odds stacked against them.
Highlighted by a 60-53 thumping of Labette, one of the Region VI championship finalists, the Blue Devils either led, were tied or within one point of the lead in six of the final eight games and it took several out of the ordinary performances – a 3-point shot at the horn, nine straight 3-pointers without a miss, 15 three-point field goals – to escape the Blue Devils.
“They did everything in their power to win,” KCKCC head coach Kelley Newton said. “They never quit, never gave up which says a lot about their character as individuals. They put their best on the floor, gave themselves a chance in every game and competed under tough circumstances, things that made me very, very proud. As a coach, I’ve been in this position before but none of these players had. They handled it the best way they knew how.”
Those six included two sophomores, 6-3 guard Juvan Davenport and 6-8 forward Josiah Laws; and freshmen Tyson Beringer, a 6-9 post; 6-3 guard Malcolm Tate, 6-6 forward DuVonte Beard; and 6-7 Chance Scott, who was headed for a redshirt season after a hand injury before playing the final eight games and providing needed minutes and a defensive presence.
Davenport led the way in scoring (16.9) and assists (2.6) along with 4.4 rebounds while Beringer led the Region VI in blocked shots (2.5), was third in rebounding (6.4) and averaged 7.3 points. Laws, who made 19 starts, averaged 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 points; Beard averaged 5.6 points in 19 starts; and Tate 6.5 points but 8.1 when he moved into the starting lineup.
With the short-handed roster, Newton put the emphasis on defense and ball control.
“We put our energy on the defensive end so we could control the tempo and pace of the game,” Newton said. “We had to. We wanted to play at a 50-point pace. It was our best chance to win with six guys. We felt we had a chance to win every single game.”
The strategy paid off with second half leads and down-to-the-wire finishes in five games. Here’s a look:
HIGHLAND, Feb. 3 – Leading 28-22 at halftime, KCKCC still trailed only 48-46 with 3 minutes remaining in a 60-51 loss.
LABETTE, Feb. 7 – Blue Devils took 17-0 and 28-4 leads and never trailed in 60-53 win over team that knocked champion JCCC out of the playoffs.
JCCC, Feb. 10 – Beaten earlier by 25 points, Blue Devils were tied 35-35 at half and trailed 72-68 with 1½ minutes left. JCCC won 79-72 by making 15 3-pointers.
At HESSTON, Feb. 14 – Blue Devils led 44-36 with 9:39 left only to have Hesston make a record nine straight 3-pointers without a miss for 73-61 win.
FORT SCOTT, Feb. 17 – En route to first 20-win season since 1991, Fort Scott opened 31-22 halftime lead and won 58-41.
At HIGHLAND, Feb. 22 – After KCKCC closed to 24-22 with two minutes left in half, Scotties pulled away for 69-51 win.
At LABETTE, Feb. 25 – KCKCC led 52-50 only to have Labette’s Frank Royles hit a heavily contested 3-pointer at the horn for 53-52 Cardinal win.
At FORT SCOTT, Feb. 28 – After leading playoff opener 42-33 with 15 minutes left, Blue Devils trailed 63-61 with 40 seconds to go and only four players left as the Greyhounds escaped 69-63.
The one area in which the Blue Devils came up short – 17.1 turnovers a game.
“That’s more than I’ve had since I’ve been here, a lot of unforced turnovers,” Newton said. “And our assists were way down which kind of sums up the year. We never jelled, we did not have the chemistry we needed.
“As we move forward into next season, we’re strongly looking at chemistry as we amp up our recruiting process. We’ve been hard at it for several months. There are several things we need to do to improve our program and that’s the pressure I’m putting on myself and my coaching staff.”