Macomb, Ill. ? The
UMKC men's basketball team dropped a 77-62 road contest to Western
Illinois on Thursday night at Western Hall. The Leathernecks used a 15-0 first half run
to build a double-digit lead, and they never looked back in the 15-point
victory.
After battling to 15-15 tie to start the game, junior Kenny
Simms put the Kangaroos up by a field goal (17-15) with 12:25 remaining. The Leathernecks, however, proceeded to score
15 straight points to build a 30-17 advantage.
A Dane Brumagin free throw and a Tim Blackwell three pointer
cut the deficit to nine points with 4:46 remaining in the half, but WIU then scored
nine of the final 12 points to take a 39-24 lead into the break.
After making five of its first 10 shots to start the game,
UMKC proceeded to go just 4-of-17 over the final 14:30, as it finished with a
.333 (9-27) mark for the half. WIU,
meanwhile, made 15-of-28 attempts in the opening 20 minutes for a .536
percentage.
Coming out of the locker room, the Leathernecks stretched
their lead to 20 points (46-26) with 17:52 remaining in the game. After trading six straight baskets, Brumagin
connected on a three pointer and Blackwell followed with a jumper to cut the
margin to 15 (53-36).
WIU answered with a 10-3 run to stretch their lead to a
game-high 23 points (64-41) with 10:47 remaining. The Leathernecks then scored just one field
goal over the next five and a half minutes, as UMKC climbed to within 12 at
66-54 with 5:30 remaining.
The Kangaroos kept the margin within 12 up until the
four-minute mark, but WIU wouldn't allow UMKC to get any closer before running
out 15-point winners.
UMKC shot .444 (20-45) from the field and .500 (6-12) from
three-point range in the contest. WIU,
meanwhile, shot .560 (28-50) from the floor and .500 (9-18) from long
range. WIU also dominated the action on
the boards, 38-20, and it had 20 assists on 28 field goals.
Two UMKC players finished the game in double figures with
Blackwell leading the squad with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Brumagin was the only other player in double
digits with 13 in the game.
Five Leatherneck players, meanwhile, scored 10 or more
points. Jerryck Owens-Murrey and David
Jackson tied for the team-high with 16 points on the night.
The Kangaroos (8-15, 3-7) will return to action on Saturday
night at IUPUI.
