Kansas City
South Dakota State
Jackrabbits Top 'Roos At Municipal, 74-69
1/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Kansas City, Mo. -- The UMKC men's basketball team came up on the losing end of a 74-69 decision to South Dakota State on Thursday night at Municipal Auditorium. The Jackrabbits shot 60.9 percent and made 15-of-16 free throws in the second half to secure the five-point victory.
Four 'Roo players finished in double digits with sophomore Trey McKinney-Jones pacing the squad with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with a team-high six boards. Junior Bakari Lewis had 15 points and six assists, junior Jay Couisnard had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and LaTreze Mushatt added 12 points in the defeat.
Both teams struggled to make its shots in the early going, as SDSU led just 9-8 over the first eight minutes of the contest. The Jackrabbits then went on a 10-4 run to build a 19-12 lead with 6:27 to go in the half.
UMKC quickly answered with six straight points behind a Mushatt three-point play to pull to within one at 19-18 before heading into the locker room down two at 28-26.
The 'Roos came out hot from behind the three-point arc to start the second half, as Lewis, Couisnard and McKinney-Jones drained long balls on the team's first three possessions. After a jumper by Clint Sargent tied the game at 35 with 16:28 to play, Couisnard then scored five straight on a three-point play and a fast break lay-up to give UMKC a five-point lead - its biggest lead of the night - at 40-35 with 15:40 left in the game.
SDSU quickly turned their deficit into a lead when it scored 12-of-13 points over a three-minute stretch to make the score 47-41 with 12:18 to play. UMKC immediately answered, however, thanks to the play of Lewis. The guard scored eight straight 'Roo points to turn a 49-43 deficit into a 51-50 advantage with 8:40 to play.
SDSU quickly regained the lead on a pair of Nate Wolters free throws as the freshman ignited an 11-4 run for the Jackrabbits to make the score 62-55 with 4:48 remaining. Wolters made six free throws during the run and 10 free throws in the final 8:40.
The 'Roos pulled to within four (66-62) with a minute left and within three (70-67) with 21 ticks remaining, but Sargent made all four of his free throws in the closing seconds to secure just SDSU's second road Summit League win in school history.
UMKC shot .474 from the floor and .500 (5-10) from long range, while SDSU finished with a .489 (22-45) field goal percentage and a .294 (5-17) clip from three-point land. The Jacks also out rebounded the 'Roos, 33-25, and made 25-of-31 free throws compared to just 10-of-14 for UMKC.
Forward Kai Williams led a group of three Jackrabbit players in double figures with 19 points and eight boards. Sargent finished with 18 on 6-of-11 shooting, while Wolters added 12, all of which came from the charity stripe.
UMKC (8-7, 2-2) will have a week off before facing league-leading Oakland next Thursday night at the O'Rena in Rochester, Mich.
