Orlando, Fla. -- The
UMKC men's basketball team ended its seven-game road trip with an 86-65 loss to
No. 17/18 Florida on Sunday afternoon at Amway
Arena in Orlando. The Gators used an 18-0 run over the final
four minutes of the first half and the first 2:30 of the second half to build a
double-digit lead, and they never looked back in the 21-point victory.
UMKC got off to a solid start in the contest, as it made
7-of-12 shots to build a 16-13 advantage over the first eight minutes. The Gators then used a 10-2 run to grab a
23-18 lead behind a Chandler Parsons three-pointer and a pair of Alex Tyus
dunks.
The Kangaroos cut the deficit to a point at 27-26 on a Dane
Brumagin long ball at the 6:09 mark. Two
minutes later, Brumagin pushed his first half scoring total to 14 points with
back-to-back field goals that stretched UMKC's lead to three (32-29).
Florida
then closed out the half by scoring the final 11 points to take 40-32 lead into
the locker room. UMKC shot 54 percent
(14-26) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while the Gators made
16-of-32 attempts for a .500 clip.
UF extended its run to 18-0 to start the second half, as it
scored the first seven points to stretch its lead to 47-32. The Kangaroos managed to get to within 11 at
54-43 with 13:21 to play, but UF responded with a 7-0 spurt to stretch its lead
to 18 (61-43) with 12:37 remaining.
The Gators pushed their advantage to 21 points at the 7:16
mark and to a game-high 27 points (82-55) with 2:54 to play. The Kangaroos then scored 10 of the final 14
points to make the final score 86-65.
UMKC shot .422 (27-64) from the floor and .308 (8-26) from
long range. The squad also made just
3-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe.
UF, meanwhile, shot .557 (34-61) from the field and .300 (6-20) from
three-point land. The Gators also out
rebounded the Kangaroos, 35-31.
Three UMKC players finished the contest in double figures
with Brumagin leading the way with 16 points on a 7-of-17 day from the
floor. Freshman Latreze Mushatt finished
with 12 points and eight boards, while Hamilton
had 10 points, five steals and four assists.
Tyus, meanwhile, led a group of three Gator players in
double figures with 25 points on a 10-of-13 day from the field.
UMKC (3-5) will open Summit League play against Oakland on Thursday night
at Municipal Auditorium beginning at 7:05 p.m.
