Kansas City
Miami Univ. (Ohio)
Kangaroos Use Defense to Run Past Redhawks, 69-55
12/18/2013 10:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – Kansas City overcame an early 10-point deficit and turned that into a 26-point second half lead on Wednesday night in a 69-55 thumping of the Miami Redhawks at Municipal Auditorium.
The Redhawks (2-6) jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the game's first five minutes as Kansas City (3-7) couldn't buy a bucket, but the tide quickly changed. UMKC got a three from junior Frank Williams with 14:42 on the clock, and the team defense amped up from there, holding MU without a field goal until the 7:28 mark.
“This is a very good win for us,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “I really didn't feel a sense of panic at all (when they went up 10-0). The points they got were contested shots, and on the other end, I thought we missed some easy ones, but we stuck to the game plan.”
The 'Roos still didn't have the lead though, taking its first advantage on a three by freshman Martez Harrison at the 5:44 mark, making it 18-17. That shot started a 15-2 run for Kansas City, capped by a three from senior Trinity Hall with 1:21 to play in the half and a 30-19 UMKC lead. The 'Roos went into the break up nine, out-scoring the Redhawks 30-11 in the final 15 minutes of the period.
UMKC was paced by 10 points from Harrison, but the defense did the trick, holding MU to only 34 percent shooting in the half.
The second half saw the offense pick up for both teams, but the 'Roos forced the Redhawks into 16 turnovers during the stanza, scoring 17 points off them. Nelson Kirksey and Williams got out and ran to tally nine points apiece to lead the way.
By the 12:32 mark Kansas City had its lead up to 18 points, then it pushed to seal the win, going up by a season-high 26 points with 5:35 left to play at 64-38. The advantage gave UMKC a chance to get its bench in the game for the final five minutes. During that time, the 'Roos committed six turnovers and MU out-scored them 17-3.
“It was our first time having the opportunity to experience this type of lead and finishing our opponent,” Richardson said. “We had a letdown there once we went deep into the bench to finish the game, but for the most part I thought our guys did an excellent job of finishing the game when it mattered.”
UMKC hit 50 percent of its shots in the final half, and 46 percent in the game, while holding MU to 40 percent shooting and 25 turnovers. With the exception of the final five minutes, UMKC had 16 assists to only nine turnovers as well.
Four players finished in double figures as Kirksey led the way with 13, while Williams, Hall and Harrison each tallied 12 points. It was the third consecutive game that Harrison, Hall and Kirksey each had double-figure points.
UMKC will now hit the road for a contest at Wright State on Saturday in Dayton, Ohio. The contest is scheduled to tip off at 6:00 p.m. CT.
