Fort
Myers, Fla. -- The UMKC men's basketball team dropped an 85-74 neutral site contest to Richmond on Tuesday
afternoon at the Alico Arena in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. The Kangaroos and Spiders were tied at 60
with 8:36 remaining, but Richmond
used a 17-7 run over a four-and-a-half minute to take control of the game, which led to the nine-point win.
The opening eight minutes was a back-and-forth affair, as
there were two ties and a five lead changes.
Trailing by a point at 13-12, the Kangaroos put together a 10-3 run to
build a 22-16 lead with 9:58 remaining.
Reggie Hamilton and Dane Brumagin both scored four points apiece during
the spurt.
Richmond
responded with an 8-2 run over the next four minutes to even the game at 24
all. The two squads then traded the lead
six times leading into the break before the Spiders pushed the margin to four
points (34-30) on a Justin Harper trey with 20 seconds remaining. Hamilton, however, pulled his squad to within
a point heading into the locker room after connecting on a long three pointer
with seconds left in the half, making the score 34-33.
Coming out of the break, the Spiders stretched their lead to
six points three times early in the second half. Trailing 45-39, the Kangaroos got a jumper by
Hamilton and a
pair of Brumagin free throws to pull to within two at 45-43.
UMKC climbed to within a point on a Brumagin three pointer
at the 13:26 mark, but Richmond
responded with a 6-0 run to go up seven (57-50) with around 12 minutes to
play. The Kangaroos then flipped the
momentum with a 10-3 run to even the tally at 60 with 8:36 remaining.
Harper immediately answered with a three-pointer to put the
Spiders up 63-60, and the long ball was the beginning of a 17-7 Richmond run that
stretched the margin to 10 points at 77-67.
The Kangaroos kept battling, as a Hamilton
three-pointer pulled his squad to within five (79-74) with two minutes to
play. UR, however, scored the final six points of
the game to go on to the nine-point win.
UMKC shot .462 (24-52) from the floor, and it made 19-of-21
free throws. Richmond, meanwhile, shot a blistering .686
(35-51) from the field, and it had 24 assists on its 35 made field goals. The Kangaroos, however, won the battle on the
boards for the first time this season, 25-21.
Two UMKC players finished with 20 or more points in the
loss. Brumagin made 8-of-16 shots to
finish with a season-high 26 points. Hamilton also connected
on 8-of-16 shots, which included a 5-of-8 night from long range, to tie a
career-high with 23 points, while also dishing out six assists. It was the
guard's third straight game with 20 or more points.
Spider center Jarhon Giddings led a group of four Richmond players in
double figures, as he finished with 20 points on a 7-of-11 night from the floor.
The Kangaroos (2-4) will close out the CBE Classic on
Wednesday night against host Florida
Gulf Coast
beginning at 6 p.m. (CST).
