The KCKCC men's basketball team kicked off their 2023-24 season with a resounding defeat of the University of Saint Mary Spires JV Thursday at Hy-Vee Arena. The Blue Devils led the entire game, winning 99-60.

KCKCC led by as much as 25 points in the first half and headed into halftime with a demanding 50-29 lead. Offensively the Blue Devils shot 48.2 percent from the field (40-for-83), 28.6 percent (8-of-26) from beyond-the-arc and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) at the free-throw line.

Caleb Jones led the Blue Devils offensively, recording a 16 point and 12 rebound, double-double. KJ Kennon came off the bench and tallied 15 points while shooting 6-8 from the field. Pierce Ross shot 6-12 from the field and scored 13 points in his 12 minutes of playing. 

Saint Mary turned the ball over 25 times and shot 34.8 percent from the field (23-for-66) but were just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) from beyond-the-arc and 60 percent (6-of-10) at the free-throw line.

Mason Belcher led the Spires offense with 14 points, followed by Tate Brown, who had 12 points and shot 4-of-10 from three.

The Blue Devils (1-0) are scheduled to face the Southeast Bobcats (1-0) at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 at Rockhurst University.