Kansas City
Wisconsin
No. 11 Badgers stifle UMKC, 77-31
11/23/2011 12:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Kangaroos (1-4) actually came out firing, scoring eight points in the first 3:17 off five points from Reggie Chamberlain and a three from Kirk Korver to make it 8-8, but they didn't score again until the 8:46 mark, as UW (4-0) went on a 13-0 run.
The Kangaroos cut it to 14 after Michael Gholston hit two three-pointers at the 7:15 and 5:14 marks, but UW closed the half on an 11-2 rally to make it 41-18 at the break.
The Badgers went on a tear from three-point range, hitting 8-of-14 from beyond the arc in the half, including two each from forwards' Mike Bruesewitz and Jered Berggren, as well as Ben Brust. They hit 57 percent in the half, while UMKC shot 32 percent.
Wisconsin pushed its lead to 33 by the 16:03 mark, and after buckets by Trinity Hall and Chamberlain over the next minute, the 'Roos went cold, hitting only one more field goal the entire half. The Kangaroos scored only 13 points in the half as the Badgers pushed their margin to as many as 46 points.
UMKC shot 12.9 percent in the final stanza, and suffered the fourth-worst loss in school history, but it played short-handed. The 'Roos found out earlier in the day that forwards Fred Chatmon and Jordan Payton would not be able to play due to injury, adding to the previous injury of center Bernard Kamwa.
Hall and Chamberlain led the way with seven points apiece, while Berggren led the Badgers with a career-high 21 points, going 4-of-4 from three-point range.
The Kangaroos will continue the Chicago Invitational Challenge on Friday with a contest against Wofford at 2:30 p.m. (CT). The game will be played at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.
