Kansas City Kansas Community College

Led by a near triple double by sophomore Sarah Craft, Kansas City Kansas Community College knocked one Nesoho County team out of first place in the Jayhawk Conference with an 88-76 win Wednesday night.

The Blue Devil men (13-2) were not as fortunate as Neosho (3-0) rallied from a 13-point second half deficit for a 64-59 win that dropped KCKCC to 1-2 in the league heading into a crucial twin bill at Coffeyville Saturday night. The second of four games in eight days, the Blue Devils are right back home Monday against Allen County and Wednesday against Independence.

Craft, a forward from Lawrence who finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, was sensational in the final 4 ½ minutes, either scoring or handing out assists in eight straight Blue Devil possessions. Trailing 73-69, Craft fed Laci Schreiber and Allyssa Rushton for layups that tied it and then put KCKCC ahead to stay with a layup and three straight assists to Schreiber for layups that put the Blue Devils in front 81-76 before capping the 17-5 comeback with a 3-point play and layup.

The big finish was a complete reversal of the first 35 minutes when the Blue Devils turned the ball over 29 times including five in a row in one stretch against a Neosho press that enabled the Panthers to wipe out a 9-point deficit and lead by five with eight minutes to go. However, the Blue Devils were flawless in repeatedly breaking the press down the stretch – no turnovers while scoring on virtually every possession.

Rushton led KCKCC with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Schreiber added 14 points and five rebounds, Jerae David nine points and six rebounds and Shannon Carlin eight points. It was the first win in conference play for the Lady Blue Devils, who improved to 10-4.

The Blue Devil men built a 38-27 halftime lead behind torrid 58.3 percent shooting and extended it to 40-27 against a Neosho team fresh off a 90-80 upset of No. 9 Hutchinson. However, the Blue Devils were unable to overcome 11 second half turnovers as the Panthers rallied behind 6-7 Antoine Lundy, the Jayhawk’s leading rebounder who scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half including a layup and a three-pointer that put Neosho ahead to stay in the final four minutes.

Down 60-57, KCKCC closed to 60-59 with 1:20 left on two Derick Denny free throws and then got the ball back on a Lundy turnover. However, Denny couldn’t get a 12-footer to drop and Neosho pulled away with four free throws in the final 16 seconds.

Denny led KCKCC with 14 points and six assists while Andre Metoyer added 12 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in one of his best performances. Scott Fruehling had 10 points and four assists and Dennis Tinnon nine points and four rebounds. In early foul trouble, Tinnon was four of five from the field in just 15 minutes.