Chicago, Ill. -- The
UMKC men's basketball team came up on the short end of a 52-47 defensive battle
at Loyola Chicago on Saturday afternoon at the Gentile Center. The Kangaroos got a double-double from
Spencer Johnson, but the Ramblers used an 8-0 run late in the second half to take
control before running out five-point winners.
Both teams struggled from the floor to start the game, as
the two squads combined to hit just 6-of-26 shots over the first eight
minutes. Trailing 11-4, UMKC came alive
with an 8-0 spurt to take the one-point lead with 5:43 to go in the half. Johnson opened the run by scoring the first
six points before a Dane Brumagin steal led to a Reggie Hamilton lay-up to put
the ?Roos up 12-11.
LUC answered with four quick points to go up three (15-12)
before heading into the locker room with the 21-19 advantage. The two squads combined to make just 17-of-56
shots in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Ramblers stretched their lead to four points early in
the second half before a Brumagin long ball and a Hamilton jumper gave UMKC the 26-25 lead with
15:22 remaining. LUC then put together a
7-0 run to build a six-point lead (32-26) with 12:46 left in the contest.
The Kangaroos responded with a 10-2 spurt of their own over
the next four minutes to grab a 36-34 lead with 8:47 left. Hamilton
opened the run with a three pointer to cut the margin to three. Following a J.R. Blount field goal, Johnson
and Brumagin had back-to-back lay-ups before Latreze Mushatt nailed a three
from the corner to give UMKC the lead.
With the score 40 all with 5:17 to play, the Ramblers took
control of the game with an 8-0 run over a two-minute span to take a 48-40
lead. Brumagin tried to bring his team
back, as he cut the margin to four (48-44) with 2:16 to play and three with 38
seconds remaining. LUC kept UMKC's hope
alive, as it missed six free throws in the final minute of play, but the
Kangaroos couldn't connect down the stretch in the five-point defeat.
UMKC finished with a .339 (20-59) field goal percentage in
the game, and it made just 5-of-24 three point attempts for a .208
percentage. Loyola, meanwhile, shot .321
(17-53) from the floor and .143 (1-7) from long range. The big disparity was at the charity stripe,
where LUC made 17-of-27 attempts, while the Kangaroos were just 2-of-3.
Brumagin led a group of three Kangaroo players in double
figures with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
He also grabbed nine rebounds. Johnson,
meanwhile, tallied his third straight double-double with 14 points and a
career-best 14 rebounds, and Hamilton
finished with 14 points and four assists.
Three Loyola players also posted double digit scoring totals
in the game with Blount leading the way with 19 points in the contest.
UMKC (4-7) will return to action on Monday night at
Northwestern beginning at 7 p.m. The
game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
