Trail Blazers unable to sidestep own ‘ragged’ effort in loss to open weekend

QUINCY — Darius Bolden was disappointed in the John Wood Community College men’s basketball team’s inconsistent play Friday night.

The Trail Blazers sophomore guard went as far as to say JWCC’s overall performance bordered on “ragged.”

It was hard to argue.

Kansas City (Kan.) Community College pulled away down the stretch for an 82-73 victory over JWCC in the second of two Friday night games that opened the Town and County Inn and Suites Classic at the Student Activity Center.

“We’re not close at all to how good we can be,” said Bolden, a native of Milwaukee, Wis., who was one of the few bright spots for John Wood. “We’re just not there yet.”

Bolden’s nine points, plus a team-leading seven rebounds and five assists — coupled with a 25-point performance from 6-foot-6 freshman swingman Jeremiah Talton of Quincy — were not enough to turn back determined Kansas City. 

The Blue Devils (6-5) outscored the Trail Blazers 19-10 over the closing seven minutes, including the last six points of the game. John Wood (7-5) did not score in the final two minutes, seeing its modest two-game win streak snapped.

“Give Kansas City credit, but I’m disappointed that we didn’t seem to ready to play, and I can say that’s my fault,” John Wood coach Brad Hoyt said. “I thought we had some moments in the second half, and the effort was there … but our execution was not.”

Talton’s effort continued his torrid start to the season. He has topped 20 points in eight of his last nine games and is averaging 24.4 points in an average of 25 minutes per game.

Jenson Whiteman, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, was John Wood’s other double-figure scorer with 13 points, slightly above his 12.3 average.

Kansas City’s Bradley Lightbourne, a sophomore guard out of The Bahamas, led all scorers with 29 points. Lightbourne was also the game’s top rebounder with eight.

Quincy plays Milwaukee Area Tech (9-1) today at 3 p.m. Milwaukee, the nation’s No. 3-ranked NJCAA Division II team, walloped Illinois Central 101-88 in Friday’s first contest. The Trail Blazers will enter the game with a 3-4 record at home.

Milwaukee’s balanced lineup saw six players reach double figures, headed by guards Mikale Stevenson (19) and Daniel Filippone (17).

“Milwaukee will be the best team we play all year,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt isn’t certain which version of the Trail Blazers will show up.

“November is about learning and December is about growing,” Hoyt said. “We’ll have another chance to grow against Milwaukee.”