The Kansas City Kansas Community College men's basketball team took down 19th seeded Raritan Valley to record their first ever National Tournament win in KCKCC men's basketball history. The Golden Lions started off hot, building up a lead of 11-2 in the first two minutes and thirty seconds of the game. It didn't take long for KCKCC to climb back into things as they were up 48-40 at the half up.
Pierce Ross scored a team-high 21 points in the first half while shooting 9-11 from the floor. Ross managed to score four more points in the second half while shooting 100%, finishing the night with 25 points, five rebounds, two steals and one assist. The 2024-25 KJCCC Most Valuable Player, BJ Stewart had a 24 point and 11 rebound double-double while shooting 9-16 from the floor. Stewart got himself into foul trouble as he got his fourth foul with more than 12 minutes remaining in the game. He re-entered the game with around six minutes remaining and managed to not gain another foul. Israel Randle had a clutch second half where he scored all his 13 points. Camron Williford had a quiet day scoring as he just put up nine points but he had a team-high three assists. The man who was born and raised in Danville, IL, O'shawn Jones-Winslow gave the fans exactly what they came for in the final minute of the game as he had two huge blocks to help secure the Blue Devil win. There were kids from the Boys and Girl club filling up an entire section of the bleachers rooting for their hometown hero. Jones-Winslow brought down six rebounds, had two assists along with two blocks. The KCKCC Men's Basketball program was yet to record a win in the National Tournament stage, previously 0-2. But with Head Coach, Brandon Burgette, Assistant Coach, Franklin Williams Jr. and help from the support staff, they boosted the Blue Devils to going in the record books as they won with a final score of 88-82. They will now take on three-seeded Kirkwood at 3 p.m. on Mar. 18th for the second round of the tournament.
To follow along, here are more details from the NJCAA.