KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- Kansas City Kansas Community College basketball teams passed their next-to-last non-conference tests with A plus grades Friday – the Blue Devil men defeating Westminster College’s JV 75-43 after the KCKCC women had cruised 84-34.
Both teams will close out non-conference play Monday with the Lady Blue Devils (17-2) hosting Benedictine’s JVs at 6 p.m. and the KCKCC men (6-13) playing at Penn Valley at 7 p.m.
Then its Jayhawk Conference Division II play the rest of the way starting Wednesday at Johnson County at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. The women’s opener will match two of the Top 10 Division II teams in the nation, No. 2 JCCC (18-0) and No. 8 KCKCC while the Blue Devil men will put their 6-13 record up against the Cavaliers’ 4-15 mark in the nightcap.
The Blue Devils will stay on the road Saturday afternoon, playing at Highland at 1 and 3 p.m. before their first home conference games against Brown Mackie Wednesday, Jan. 29.
The Blue Devil men got a huge shot in the arm from freshman forward Marcus Allen in snapping a 9-game losing streak. Playing in only his second game since becoming eligible the second semester, the former Sumner Academy standout had 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Lucas Smith also had a double double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while Willis Garner added 11 points, Clay Young eight points and eight rebounds and Colin Adney eight points and three assists. Limiting Westminster to just 5 of 25 shots for 20 percent, KCKCC built a 35-16 halftime lead.
Freshman Cassidy Harbert recorded a rare triple double and sophomore Bailey West and freshman Julia Garrard had double doubles to lead the KCKCC women.
A guard from Wichita, Harbert had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists after missing a triple double by a single assist against Neosho County early in the season.
West grabbed 17 points and 11 rebounds and Garrard had 12 points and 11 rebounds while Janai Mitchell came close to a double double with 17 points and 8 rebounds.
Kalah Jiggetts was also in double figures with 10 points while Alyson Weber had eight points and six rebounds. KCKCC raced to a 38-9 halftime lead by allowing Westminster to convert just 3-of-28 shots for 10.7 percent.
