Kansas City, Mo. ? The UMKC men's basketball team
rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to top Loyola Chicago, 77-66, on
Saturday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium.
The Kangaroos used a 19-2 two spurt over an eight-minute span early in
the second half to turn a 10-point deficit into a seven-point advantage.
After jumping out to an early 12-9 lead in the contest, the
Ramblers scored eight straight points behind a pair of Tracy Robinson three
pointers to stretch their advantage to a half-high 13 point at 22-9 with 7:55
on the clock.
UMKC closed the gap to seven points at 27-20 at the 3:21
mark before Loyola took a 31-23 lead into the break. The Kangaroos made just 7-of-23 first half
attempts, and the Ramblers dominated the action on the glass, 28-12.
After trading four straight field goals over the first two
minutes of the second half, the Kangaroos put together a 19-2 run over an
eight-minute span to turn a 10-point deficit into a 46-39 lead. Tim Blackwell and Reggie Hamilton opened the
spurt with three-pointers and Kenny Simms followed with a thunderous dunk to
cut the deficit to three at 38-35.
After J.R. Blount hit 1-of-3 free throw attempts, Brent
Stephens had an old-fashioned play, and Dane Brumagin followed with a long ball
to give UMKC its first lead of the game at 41-39 with 12:15 remaining. The Kangaroos then proceeded to stretch their
lead to 11 points at 59-48 behind three straight treys from Blackwell, Hamilton
and Brian Gettinger.
UMKC extended its advantage to a game-high 14 points at
68-54 with 2:36 remaining before winning the game by the 11-point margin,
77-66. The Kangaroos shot .438 (21-48)
from the floor in the game, and .560 (14-25) in the second half. The squad also shot .526 (10-19) from
three-point land in the game. Loyola,
meanwhile, shot .349 (22-63) from the field and .160 (4-25) from long
range. LUC also won the battle on the
boards, 44-29.
Four UMKC players finished the game in double figures. Blackwell tallied his third straight 20-point
game, as he netted 24 on 5-of-12 shooting in the game. Brumagin scored 19 to go along with a
team-best eight rebounds, Hamilton
finished with 12 points and Stephens added 11.
Leon Young paced the Ramblers in the contest. The forward was one of three players in
double figures, as he finished with a double-double with 24 points and 13
rebounds.
The Kangaroos (5-8) will close out the year at Central Arkansas on Saturday, Dec. 29 beginning at 6 p.m.
