Kansas City
South Dakota
UMKC Men Fall to Coyotes After Sluggish Second Half, 76-57
1/7/2012 11:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - The UMKC Kangaroos were out-scored by 16 in the second half, and committed 11 turnovers that turned into 17 South Dakota points in a 76-57 loss on Saturday night at Swinney Recreation Center.
It was the sixth consecutive loss for UMKC (7-11, 1-5 SL), while South Dakota (6-9, 1-5 SL) earned its first ever win in the Summit League. UMKC played its fourth consecutive game without second-leading scorer Trinity Hall, who is out due to injury.
The contest opened in favor of the Coyotes, as they jumped out 17-8 in the first eight minutes, but the 'Roos started to make a run back with 8:15 on the clock. A 14-3 rally over the next few minutes, fueled by senior guard Reggie Chamberlain gave a 31-30 lead to UMKC with 3:31 left before the break.
The Coyotes answered with six consecutive points though, and went into the half with a 36-33 advantage. USD led despite UMKC taking a 17-12 advantage on the glass and a 9-3 lead in points off turnovers. South Dakota shot 56 percent, while UMKC hit 39.4 percent from the field. Chamberlain paced the 'Roos with 14 points, while Louie Krogman had 13 for USD.
The second stanza is where it fell apart for UMKC, with South Dakota pushing its lead to double digits by the 13:08 mark, and the 'Roos never getting the margin below that the rest of the night.
USD had a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the half, along with a 21-16 rebound edge. The Coyotes took most of their attempts in the paint, with eight of their 12 makes being lay-ups. USD out-scored UMKC 40-24 in the period as a result.
For the contest, UMKC shot 38.6 percent overall, and 28 percent from three-point land. Chamberlain matched a career-high with five three-pointers (5-of-9), but the rest of the team went 1-of-12 from the arc. He finished with a team-high 19 points, while Thomas Staton was in double-figures for the fourth straight game with 10.
The Coyotes got 23 second half points from leading scorer Charlie Westbrook, who finished with a game-high 32 points, the most for any opposing player against UMKC this season.
The Kangaroos will hit the road on Thursday with a trip to North Dakota State on Thursday in Fargo, before heading to South Dakota State on Saturday.
