The Kansas City Kansas Community College men's basketball team was set to take on three-seeded Highland Community College for the 2025 DII Men's Basketball Region VI semifinal game. The two other teams remaining were the first-seeded Johnson County Community College Cavaliers and fourth-seeded Allen Community College. Both higher seeded teams won their semifinal matchup and it was a top two seeded showdown to punch their ticket to Danville, IL for the NJCAA Postseason Tournament. The Blue Devils would end up squeaking by the Cavaliers in the final by a single point and will represent the Plains District in Danville, IL.
In the first game, the Blue Devils only led for 113 seconds in the entire game but found the time to score when it was needed. Israel Randle came off the bench and supplied the Blue Devils with a team-high 19 points while shooting 7-9 from the field. BJ Stewart finished the night with 16 points, five rebounds, two blocks and one assist. KCKCC struggled from behind the arc, shooting 5-25 (20%) but managed to stay within range of the Scotties. Ta'Veaion Washington scored just six points but had the biggest shot of the night. With just 26 seconds remaining in the game, Washington sunk a contested shot in the paint to take the lead. The Blue Devil defense stood strong in the final seconds and didn't allow the Scotties to shoot a high percentage shot. The Scotties ended up missing the shot with two seconds left on the clock to secure the win for the Blue Devils. The final score ended up being 70-68 in favor of KCKCC.
The stage was set for the championship game, first seeded Johnson County vs second-seeded KCKCC, the two teams who finished in first and second place in the 2024-25 KJCCC regular season. The Cavaliers took down the Blue Devils both times they met in the regular season with scores of 77-72 and 78-63.
In the championship game, the game went back and forth all afternoon totaling eight lead changes and seven ties. Blue Devil redshirt freshman, Jeremiah Lewis, was able to hit a three-point shot at the halftime buzzer which put the Blue Devils up three points, 38-35. Camron Williford and Washington both ended the game with 15 points, a team high. Williford came up clutch in the final minutes as he went 4-4 from the free throw line with under two minutes remaining. He was fouled with 10 seconds left and put the Blue Devils up one after sinking both shots. The Cavaliers took a timeout after Williford made his first free-throw. With just 10 seconds on the clock, the Blue Devil defense once again prevailed and forced the Cavaliers to take a very low percentage shot as the clock expired. The Blue Devils held on to win the game 74-73 and punched their ticket to the NJCAA DII Men's Basketball Championship Tournament in Danville, IL.
When asked about how tough his team was, KCKCC men's basketball head coach, Brandon Burgette said this. "I think we were more tough in the second half… we held them to 28% from the field. We made stops when it mattered."
The men's basketball team find out their first round opponent Tuesday before heading to Danville, Ill. March 15. They will start their trip with a banquet Sunday night with all 20 teams in the tournament. For more details, visit the NJCAA website.