Kansas City, Mo. ? The UMKC men's basketball team snapped its
four-game losing streak with a 59-56 victory over Wichita State
on Saturday night at Municipal Auditorium.
The victory is the first for the Kangaroos over a school from the
Missouri Valley Conference since 2001 (Northern Iowa and Missouri State),
and it is the first win over the Shockers since 1994.
The first 10 minutes of the game was a defensive battle, as
the two squads connected on a combined 7-of-23 shot attempts. Leading 13-8, Wichita State
used a 9-3 spurt to push its advantage to 11 points at 22-11 with 5:55 left in
the half.
The Kangaroos closed the gap to seven points at 23-16 with
2:53 on the clock, before the Shockers took a 28-19 lead into the break. UMKC struggled from the floor in the opening
half, as it shot .259 from the floor and .200 (3-15) from long range.
Coming out of the half, Wichita State
stretched its lead to a game-high 13 points over the first four minutes of the
second half. Senior Tim Blackwell then
scored the Kangaroos next seven points, as he helped his team get to within
seven points at 35-28 with 13:17 left.
Back-to-back buckets from Mantas Griskenas and P.J.
Couisnard put WSU up 11 (39-28) with 12 minutes on the clock, but UMKC scored
the next six points to stay within striking distance at 39-34 with 10 and
change remaining. Redshirt junior Brian
Gettinger and Dane Brumagin both connected on treys during the spurt.
Wichita
State kept its lead
between five and eight points until the four minute mark, when UMKC made its
move. Trailing 48-44, the Kangaroos went
on an 8-1 run to turn a four-point deficit into a three point lead. Freshman Reggie Hamilton connected on a trey
to start the stretch, junior Kenny Simms had a lay-up to tie the game and
Gettinger connected on a triple that hit every side of the rim to give his team
the 52-49 lead.
The Shockers took its final lead of the game with 1:30
remaining courtesy of a Gal Mekel three pointer from the top of the key, but
Brumagin answered with a lay-up off of an offensive rebound to put the
Kangaroos back on top.
WSU tied the game at 55 after Phillip Thomasson connected
on 1-of-2 free throws with 47 seconds remaining. After a UMKC timeout, Brumagin put the
Kangaroos on top for good with 27 ticks left on an acrobatic lay-up.
Wichita
State's Matt Braeuer had
a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 17 seconds left, but he
missed the second of two attempts.
Simms, who had previously been 1-of-6 from the line on the night,
stepped confidently to the line and sank both free throws to put UMKC up three
(59-56) with 16 seconds left. Braeuer
had a chance to send the game into overtime, but his shot was off the mark as
UMKC went on to the three point win.
UMKC shot just .345 (19-55) from the floor, .391 (9-23) from
three-point land and a season-low .545 (12-22) from the free throw line. WSU, meanwhile, shot .378 (17-45) from the
field and .235 (4-17) from long range.
The Shockers outrebounded the Kangaroos, 42-31.
Three UMKC players finished the game in double figures. Brumagin and Hamilton paced the squad with 13
points apiece, while Blackwell added 12 in the winning effort. Brumagin and Simms, who was playing his first
game of the season after transferring from Florida International last year,
tied for the team-high with six rebounds.
Two Shocker players scored in double digits with Braeuer
leading the way with 14 points.
UMKC (4-7) will return to action on Wednesday night against Northern Iowa. Tip
is set for 7:05 p.m.
