Kansas City
Idaho State
Late Rally Lifts Idaho State Past UMKC, 68-65
11/28/2009 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kansas City, Mo. -- The UMKC men's basketball team dropped a 68-65 decision to Idaho State on Saturday night at the Swinney Recreation Center. The 'Roos led by as many as nine points midway through the second half, but the Bengals stormed back to take the lead on a Broderick Gilchrest 10-footer with 22.4 seconds remaining as ISU stole away the three-point win.
Three UMKC players finished in double digits in the contest with junior Jay Couisnard leading the way with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting to go along with a team-best five assists. Fellow junior Bakari Lewis made 4-of-5 shot attempts to net a season-high 13 points off the bench, and Spencer Johnson added 11 points.
Three Bengal players, meanwhile, reached double digits with Amorrow Morgan leading the way with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Demetrius Monroe tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards, and Donnie Carson added 10 points in the win.
The first half of action was a back-and-forth affair, as there were four ties and three lead changes. UMKC came out on fire from long range, making 5-of-7 attempts to help the squad build a 30-25 lead at the 7:26 mark. Idaho State, however, countered with stellar shooting effort of its own, as the squad finished above 60 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes to trail by just three points (36-33) at the break.
The 'Roos used a pair of Johnson lay-ups early in the second half to build their advantage to six points (42-36). The squad then took its biggest lead of the contest at the 11:02 mark when Couisnard and LaTreze Mushatt scored back-to-back field goals to make the score 55-46.
The Bengals kept fighting, however, as they cut the margin to four points at the 6:50 mark on a three-pointer by Gilchrest, before Rolando Little cut it to two (62-60) with 4:48 remaining. On the following possession, Mushatt connected on a long two with the shot clock winding down to put the 'Roos back up four (64-60), but ISU scored the next four points to even the tally at 64 with 2:48 left.
UMKC took the lead for the final time when Lewis made 1-of-2 free throw attempts with 1:33 left. After Gilchrest gave ISU the lead with 22.4 seconds left, Couisnard had a look to put UMKC on top, but it sailed over the rim. Following a pair of Bengal free throws, Lewis had an opportunity to tie the game, but his three pointer fell short as ISU went on to secure the three-point win.
The 'Roos finished the game with a .491 (27-55) field goal percentage and a .438 (7-16) mark from three-point range. The Bengals, meanwhile, shot .596 (28-47) from the floor and .500 (4-8) from long range. UMKC forced ISU into 17 turnovers, but the Bengals won the battle on the boards, 29-19.
UMKC (3-2) will open Summit League play on Thursday night as it travels to Tulsa to face Oral Roberts beginning at 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised live on Metro Sports.
