Kansas City, Mo. ? The UMKC men's basketball team
rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to top Arkansas Tech, 90-82, on
Saturday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium.
The Kangaroos used a 20-0 run over a four and a half minute span late in
the game to turn an eight-point deficit into a 12-point lead.
The Wonder Boys got off to a quick start in the game, as
they jumped out to a 17-4 lead through the first eight minutes of the
contest. UMKC, however, quickly answered
with a 12-0 run to get to within a point at 17-16 behind the scoring efforts of
Brent Stephens and Dane Brumagin.
The Kangaroos then built their lead to four points with 1:02
remaining, but Terrance Whiters sent the Wonder Boys into the break with the
38-36 lead, after hitting two three pointers in the final 12 seconds of the
opening frame.
ATU stretched its lead to six points (44-38) out of the
gates in the second half before UMKC tied the game for the fourth time at 50
all with 14:07 remaining. The Wonder
Boys then used an 18-6 run to stretch their advantage to a half-high 12 points
(68-56) with a little more than nine minutes to play.
Three consecutive three-pointers helped UMKC climb to within
six points at 68-62. Freshman Reggie
Hamilton hit back-to-back triples and Stephens hit the third during the run. With the score 68-76, the Kangaroos then
erupted for 20 unanswered points to turn their eight point deficit into a 12-point
lead to seal the game. Five different players
scored for UMKC during the spurt.
The wild game featured five technical fouls ? four by ATU
and one by UMKC. The Wonder Boys' head
coach Mark Downey was ejected in the first half and was given a third technical
(during UMKC's 20-0 run) for sneaking back into the arena.
The Kangaroos finished with a .472 (25-53) field goal
percentage and a .440 (11-25) mark from long range. ATU, meanwhile, shot .464 (26-56) from the
floor and .375 (6-16) from behind the three point line. UMKC also won the battle on the boards for
the first time this season, 38-27.
Five players scored in double figures in the contest for the
Kangaroos with Brumagin leading the way with 22 points to go along with a
game-high eight rebounds. Hamilton and
freshman James Humphrey, meanwhile, both posted career-bests with 17 and 10
points, respectively.
Troy Marcus paced the Wonder Boys with 22 points on 9-of-14
shooting, as he was one of five ATU players to finish in double figures.
UMKC (2-3) will return to action on Monday night against
Florida Atlantic at Municipal Auditorium.
The game will be broadcast live on Metro Sports beginning at 7:05 p.m.
