by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Highlighted by a unique tripleheader Saturday, Kansas City Kansas Community College will play four of its last five non-conference men’s basketball games at home heading into the 2020 Jayhawk Conference season.
It all starts Friday with the KCKCC Classic. Fort Scott plays Metropolitan Community College at 5:30 p.m. followed by KCKCC vs. On Point Hoops Academy at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Fort Scott plays On Point at 2 p.m. with the Blue Devils colliding with Metropolitan at 4 p.m. The KCKCC women then wrap up the tripleheader when they play Metropolitan at 6 p.m.
At No. 1 ranked North Central Missouri (NJCAA DII) in Trenton Monday, the Blue Devils play host to Saint Mary junior varsity next Thursday and Park University junior varsity Friday before beginning Jayhawk play at Labette Jan. 22.
Hutchinson, the No. 12 ranked team in NJCAA Division I, boosted its record to 13-2 with a 98-67 win over the Blue Devils (5-10) at Hutchinson Wednesday.
Scoring the first 12 points, the Blue Dragon surged to an 18-2 lead in the first seven minutes on the way to a 51-29 halftime lead.
Tyler Brown and 6-6 Saquan Singleton each had 18 points and 6-7 Majok Kuath 16 points and nine rebounds for Hutch. Singleton and 7-0 Fred Odhiambo added seven rebounds each as the Blue Dragon dominated the rebounding 52-32.
Blue Devil freshman guard Deron McDaniel led all scorers with 22 points, netting 5-of-10 3-pointers and 7-of-8 free throws.
Guards Jalen Davis and Ezekiel Lopes each added nine points and Calvin Slaughter, Robert Rhodes and Jermaine Yarbough chipped in with six apiece. Yarboough had eight rebounds and Lopes six to lead KCKCC.
Hutchinson shot 58.1 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point in the first half and finished with 54.4 percent for the field. The Blue Devils were guilty of 16 turnovers to 19 for Hutch but were just 21-of-69 from the field for 30.4 percent.