Kansas City
Oakland
Johnson's Double-Double Not Enough In 87-73 Loss At Oakland
1/14/2010 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Rochester, Mich. -- The UMKC men's basketball team dropped a hard fought 87-73 decision at league-leading Oakland on Thursday night at the Athletics Center O'Rena. The Kangaroos cut a 17-point deficit to four points midway through the second half, but the Grizzlies responded with a 10-0 run to take control before going on to the 14-point victory.
Junior Spencer Johnson led a group of three UMKC players in double digits, as he recorded his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 boards. The forward made 5-of-11 shot attempts, including 4-of-6 from long range. Freshman Kirk Korver and sophomore Trey McKinney-Jones both netted 15 points. Korver made 5-of-7 attempts (4-of-6 3PT) en route to his career-high performance.
Both teams came out cold from the floor to start the game, as the two squads combined to make just 7-of-27 attempts over the first eight minutes. OU then got hot, as it turned an 8-7 advantage into a 19-9 lead over the next four minutes.
Following a pair of free throws from Keith Benson, the Grizzlies made treys on three straight possessions, which included back-to-back long balls from Drew Maynard and the third triple from freshman Ledrick Eackles.
Oakland went on to push its lead to 17 points (41-24) with 1:38 to go in the half before Johnson netted the final five points to make the score 41-29 heading into the break. OU made a living at the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes, converting 12-of-14 attempts, while the 'Roos made just 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.
After Oakland pushed its lead to 45-29 early in the second half, the 'Roos began their comeback. Johnson and Korver drained back-to-back three-pointers to open an 11-3 UMKC run that cut the deficit to eight at 48-40.
Following a three-point play by Benson that made the score 51-40, UMKC continued battling as it used an 11-4 run over a two and a half minute stretch to cut away at the deficit. Johnson capped off the run with a long ball at the 10:17 mark to pull his squad to within four points at 55-51.
Johnathon Jones answered on the following possession with a three of his own to kick start a 10-0 Oakland run to push the lead back to 14 points (65-51). The Golden Grizzlies then maintained a double-digit lead until the two minute mark when Johnson drained a long ball from the corner - his fourth trey of the night - to get the 'Roos to within seven at 78-71.
UMKC was then forced to foul, which led OU to making 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to secure the win and improve to a perfect 6-0 in league play on the year.
UMKC shot .444 (28-63) from the floor and .435 (10-23) from long range, while Oakland shot .491 (26-53) from the field and .350 (7-20) from three-point land. The Grizzlies held an overwhelming advantage from the free throw line, making 28-of-33 attempts compared to just 7-of-13 makes for the 'Roos. OU also won the battle on the glass, 37-30.
Four Oakland players landed in double digits on the night with Benson leading the way with 22 points and 13 boards. Jones also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 assists, Eackles finished with 20 off the bench and Derick Nelson added 10.
UMKC (8-8, 2-3) will return to action on Saturday when it plays IPFW at Memorial Coliseum beginning at 6 p.m. (CT).
