Kansas City
Missouri
'Roos Fall Short At Missouri
12/30/2009 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Columbia, Mo. -- The UMKC men's basketball team closed out non-league play with a 91-57 loss at Missouri on Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers used a 20-0 first half run and a 20-4 second half run to cruise to the 34 point victory.
Three 'Roo players finished the game in double figures with sophomore LaTreze Mushatt leading the way with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Bakari Lewis scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while freshman Alex Bazzell added 10 off the bench.
The first four minute segment went about as good as UMKC could have hoped, as the squad jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind four early points from Lewis. The Tigers came out ice cold from the floor, as they missed their first nine shot attempts.
Coming out of the media timeout, Zaire Taylor hit both of his free throws to put MU on the board and ignite a 20-0 Tiger run. Lewis then ended the UMKC drought when he banked home a three pointer at the 9:32 mark to make the score 20-9 with 9:32 to play in the half.
After starting 0-9 from the floor, MU made 9-of-its-next-12 shots to build a 25-11 lead with 7:32 remaining in the half. The 'Roos, however, answered with seven straight points to pull to within seven (25-18), but MU proceeded to build their lead back to double digits before taking a 36-24 halftime advantage.
Coming out of the break, the Tigers broke the game open with a 20-4 run over the first five minutes to build a commanding 56-28 lead. MU stretched its advantage to 30 points at the 12:59 mark and UMKC never got any closer in the 34-point defeat.
The 'Roos shot .377 (20-53) from the floor and .188 (3-16) from three-point land, while the Tigers shot .484 (31-64) from the field and .250 (4-16) from long range. MU also made 25-of-35 free throw attempts and won the battle on the boards, 45-30. UMKC did force the Tigers into 21 turnovers, but the 'Roos committed 25 of their own.
Four MU players landed in double digits in the contest with Laurence Bowers leading the squad with 17 points off the bench. The forward made all five of his field goal and all seven of his free throw attempts in the contest.
UMKC (7-6) will jump back into Summit League on Saturday night when it hosts Southern Utah at Municipal Auditorium beginning at 7:05 p.m.
