Kansas
City, Mo.
-- The UMKC men's basketball team dropped a 56-51 home decision to Western Illinois on Thursday night at Kemper Arena. The Kangaroos led by as many as 16 points in
the first half and by four points with 42 seconds left, but the Leathernecks
scored the final nine points to run out five point winners.
UMKC came out strong from the opening tip as it jumped out
to a 9-2 lead over the first four minutes.
After WIU climbed to within three at 9-6, the Kangaroos used a 15-2 run
to stretch their lead to a game-high 16 points (24-8) points 6:40 remaining in
the half. Freshman Trey McKinney-Jones
and sophomore James Humphrey combined to score eight points during the spurt.
The Leathernecks then managed to close the gap to 12 points
(28-16) at the break. The 16 points for
WIU were a first half low for a UMKC opponent this season and the 12-point halftime
lead matched a season-best advantage at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, Western Illinois immediately
got back into the game as it scored nine of the first 11 points to pull to
within five points (30-25) at the 14:57 mark.
Four minutes later, the Leathernecks proceeded to even the tally at 34
all.
After UMKC pushed its advantage back to three (37-34) at the
charity stripe, WIU scored four straight to take its first lead of the night at
38-37 with 8:43 remaining.
Over the next six minutes, the two squads battled back and
forth in tune to four ties and six lead changes. With the score even at 47, McKinney-Jones
connected on a three pointer to put the ?Roos up three (50-47). Forty-six seconds later Latreze Mushatt made
a free throw to stretch the lead to four (51-47) with 42 ticks left on the
clock.
After solid defense from the ?Roos, DuBois cut the margin to
two with a lay-up with 18 seconds to play.
The Leathernecks then forced a turnover in the backcourt, and Ceola
Clark evened the tally at 51 with 12 seconds to play, and he was fouled.
After Clark missed the free
throw attempt to put his team on top, the guard grabbed an offensive rebound
and scored to give his team the 53-51 lead. On the ensuing possession, the Kangaroos
turned the ball over, and WIU's Nurse made three-of-four free throws in the
final seven seconds to lead his team to the five-point victory.
UMKC shot .452 (19-42) from the floor and .364 (4-11) from
long range, while the Leathernecks finished with a .487 (19-39) field goal
percentage and a .200 (2-10) mark from the distance. The ?Roos won the battle on the boards for
the second consecutive game, 28-21.
McKinney-Jones led a group of two UMKC players in double
digits with a career-best 12 points on a 5-of-8 night from the floor. Mushatt, meanwhile, scored 10 to go along
with seven boards.
Three WIU players finished the night in double figures with
Nurse leading the way with 14 points.
UMKC (6-17, 2-8) will return to action on Saturday night
against IUPUI. The game will be held at
Kemper Arena beginning at 7:05 p.m.
