Kansas City, Mo. ? The UMKC men's basketball team won
its second straight to even its record at 3-3 with a 77-66 victory over Florida
Atlantic on Monday night at Municipal Auditorium. The Kangaroos came from behind for the second
straight game, and they used a 23-5 run in the second half to run out 11-point
winners.
The action over the
first seven minutes of the game was tightly contested, as FAU led 15-12 with
13:15 on the clock. UMKC stretched its
six points at 27-21 with five minutes to go in the half, but FAU answered with
seven straight points to take the 28-27 lead.
UMKC then scored eight of the final 10 points in the first
half to take a 35-30 lead into the break.
Freshman James Humphrey connected on a pair of three pointers to key the
run.
The Kangaroos quickly extended their lead to eight points
early in the second half behind a Dane Brumagin three-pointer and a Tim
Blackwell jumper. The Owls then used a 16-6
run over a six minute span to take the 48-46 lead with 11:34 remaining.
That, however, would be FAU's last lead in the game. UMKC began its 23-5 run with 11 unanswered
points to take a 57-48 lead. Brumagin
drained three consecutive three pointers to key the Kangaroo spurt.
Brumagin continued the run with a pair of lay-ups and a three-pointer,
his fifth of the half, as UMKC took its largest lead of the game at 69-53 with
3:18 remaining. Freshman Reggie Hamilton
then connected on 8-of-10 free throws over the final two minutes, as the
Kangaroos claimed the game, 77-66.
UMKC finished with a .443 (27-61) field goal percentage and
a .382 (13-34) mark from long range. The
13 three-point makes are a season-high for the team. FAU, meanwhile, shot .440 (22-50) from the
floor and .353 (6-17) from three-point land.
The Kangaroos also won the battle on the boards for the second straight
game, 36-32, and it had 17 assists to the Owls' 15.
Brumagin scored 19 points in the second half, as he finished
with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
The junior connected on 5-of-8 three point attempts. Senior Brent Stephens finished with 16,
Blackwell had a season-high 14, and Hamilton
added 10 points to go along with a career-best eight assists.
UMKC (3-3) will return to action on Thursday night at UTSA
beginning at 7 p.m.
