Kansas City
IPFW
Strong Second Half Propels 'Roos To 65-56 Victory Over IPFW
2/11/2010 11:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kansas City, Mo. -- The UMKC men's basketball team played its strongest second half of the season en route to pulling out a 65-56 victory over IPFW on Thursday night at Municipal Auditorium. Trailing by nine with 12:20 to play, the 'Roos scored points on 16-of-20 possessions down the stretch to pull away for the nine point victory.
Four UMKC players finished in double digits and a pair of 'Roos tallied double-doubles in the victory. Junior Jay Couisnard paced the team with 20 points and 10 boards, while junior Spencer Johnson tallied his third double-double of the year with 10 points and 11 boards. Junior Bakari Lewis was second on the team with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while sophomore LaTreze Mushatt contributed 12 points and six rebounds.
IPFW stormed out to a 23-15 lead over the first 10 minutes of the game before pushing its advantage to nine points (28-19) at the 3:59 mark. The 'Roos then swung the momentum in their favor when Lewis nailed a 28-foot long ball with the shot clock expiring to ignite an 8-0 run that closed the gap to one at 28-27.
After taking a four point lead into the half, IPFW pushed its advantage to seven points on a Nick Daniels three-pointer on its third possession of the second half. The 'Dons then went on to match their biggest lead at 43-34 on a pair of Daniels free throws with 12:20 to play.
The 'Roos responded with an 11-1 run over a four-minute stretch that turned the nine-point deficit into a 45-44 lead. Couisnard fueled the run with eight points. IPFW regained the lead on a Antwone Snead lay-up on the following possession before Zach Plackemeier nailed a three-pointer to make the score 49-45 with 7:11 to play.
UMKC again answered as it scored five of seven points to grab a 50-49 lead before John Peckinpaugh made a pair of free throws to put the 'Dons back up by one with 5:12 to play. That, however, would be IPFW's last lead of the game.
Couisnard put the 'Roos on top with a lay-up with 4:51 on the clock before Lewis' three-point play made the score 55-51 with 4:17 remaining. The 'Dons closed the gap to a point twice in the closing minutes, but UMKC executed on both sides of the ball to maintain control.
Up by two (58-56) with 2:16 remaining, the 'Roos executed to perfection to put a dagger in the 'Dons chances. Coming out of a timeout, UMKC drew up a play for Kirk Korver, and the freshman drained a three-pointer from the left wing to put his squad up five with 1:27 to play. The 'Roos then made all four of its free throws to close out the game, as they extended their lead to a game-high nine points, which was the final margin.
UMKC finished with a .386 (17-44) field goal percentage and a .313 (5-16) mark from long range, while IPFW shot .293 (17-58) from the floor and .375 (9-24) from beyond the three point arc. The 'Roos dominated the 'Dons on the glass, 42-28, and they made 26-of-33 free throws compared to just 13-of-16 for IPFW.
Daniels paced a group of two Mastodon players in double digits, finishing with 16 points with four treys. Deilvez Yearby added 10 for the squad.
The 'Roos (11-13, 6-8) will return to action on Saturday when it welcomes league-leading Oakland to Municipal Auditorium. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. following the UMKC women's game against the Golden Grizzlies, which starts at 4 p.m.
