Conway, Ark. ? Despite
holding Central Arkansas without a field goal for the first 17 minutes of the
second half, the UMKC men's basketball team dropped a 64-57 decision to the
Bears on Saturday at the Farris
Center. The Kangaroos limited UCA to just two second
half field goals, which tied an NCAA record, but the Bears made 22-of-28 free
throws over the final 20 minutes to pull out the seven-point win.
UCA opened the game on fire, as they made 6-of-7 shot
attempts to build an 11-7 advantage through the first four minutes of the
contest. UMKC kept the game close by
making six of its first 10 shots, and it fought back to even the game at 21
with 8:23 to go courtesy of a Tim Blackwell three-pointer.
The Kangaroos then built their lead to three points at
27-24. A Spencer Johnson lay-up put the
team up one and Kenny Simms followed with a steal and breakaway dunk to put the
team up three. UCA, however, closed out
the half on a 10-4 run to take a 37-31 lead into the break. The Bears shot a scorching .652 (15-23) from
the floor and .625 (5-8) from long range in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Central Arkansas stretched
its lead to eight points on a pair of free throws to start the second half
before UMKC climbed to within five points at 39-34 with 17 to play. After a six-minute scoreless drought by both
teams, the Kangaroos used a 9-4 run to even the tally at 43. Dane Brumagin and Brent Stephens connected on
a total of three long balls during the spurt.
The Bears, who missed their first eight shot attempts of the
second half, then scored nine straight points, all of which came from the
charity stripe, to build a 54-45 advantage with five minutes to play. A Reggie Hamilton field goal and a Brumagin
three brought UMKC to within four with 3:33 left, but Marcus Pillows hit a long
three pointer, UCA's first field goal of the second half, to put the Bears up
seven with three minutes to play.
The Kangaroos wouldn't quit, as Blackwell connected on a
field goal and a free throw to bring his squad to within three at 57-54, but
Pillows followed with a pair of free throws before York Sims had a steal and
tomahawk dunk to seal the game for UCA.
UMKC finished the game with a .328 (21-64) field goal
percentage and a .333 (8-24) mark from long range. UCA, meanwhile, shot .472 (17-36) from the
floor ? just 2-of-13 in the second half - and .429 (6-14) from three-point land. The Bears' two second half field goals tied
an NCAA record for fewest makes in a half.
Central Michigan made just a pair of buckets in a game against Ohio on Jan. 14,
2006.
The biggest difference in the game came from the free throw
line, where UCA made 24-of-32 attempts for a .750 percentage. UMKC, meanwhile, was just 7-of-16 (.438) for
the game.
Brumagin paced the Kangaroos with 18 points on 6-of-21
shooting, and he narrowly missed his first career double-double with a
game-high nine rebounds. Blackwell was
the only other UMKC player in double figures with 10 points in the contest.
Four Bear players finished the game in double figures. Bowie, a native of Kansas City, Kan.,
paced the squad with 17 points.
UMKC (5-9) will return to Summit League action on Jan. 3,
when it faces off against IUPUI at Municipal Auditorium. Tip is set for 7:05 p.m.
