Kansas City
South Dakota State
South Dakota State Squeezes Past Kansas City, 65-60
12/28/2013 11:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - Kansas City had the ball with nine seconds left and were down one point to South Dakota State on Saturday night, but it failed to convert and couldn't overcome costly mistakes, falling 65-60.
The 'Roos (3-9) trailed by five with a minute left in the game, but got back-to-back steals and buckets to cut the margin to 61-60 with 31 seconds left. South Dakota State (8-7) missed the front end of a 1-and-1 on the ensuing possession though, and UMKC got the ball to the other side of the court before calling a timeout with nine seconds on the clock. The 'Roos never got a shot off, as freshman Martez Harrison was called for a questionable offensive foul 18 feet from the basket with 3.5 seconds left. He was whistled for a technical foul after the play (his second of the game), and South Dakota State hit all four of its free throws to seal it.
“It was a very intense game, but bottom line is our players have to make plays,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “Hopefully Martez will learn from this tonight and improve from it, but I was really proud of our effort.”
Another area that really hurt the 'Roos was free throw shooting. UMKC hit only 10-of-22 attempts in the game.
Kansas City got off to a fast start in the game, jumping out to a 13-3 lead in the first 5:14, but SDSU didn't let it get out of control. UMKC held on to the advantage with a 20-11 margin at the 9:58 mark, but the Jacks used an 11-2 rally over the next three minutes, caked with three 'Roo turnovers to tie it at 22.
The Jacks got some open looks from three by Brayden Carlson, who hit the shot to tie it, followed by two more from deep over the ensuing minutes to give them their first lead of the night at 28-25 with 4:53 remaining. The 'Roos went on an 8-0 run of their own to answer though, and took a 33-30 advantage into the half.
Carlson had 14 in the period to lead all scorers, but UMKC shot 52 percent as a team compared to 36.7 percent for the Jacks.
South Dakota State ramped up its defense in the second stanza, making it difficult for Kansas City to score. The 'Roos picked up their ball pressure as well, creating 13 SDSU turnovers with nine steals in the final half, including a team season-high and career best six steals from senior Nelson Kirksey. Unfortunately for the 'Roos, they also turned it over 10 times, while allowing the Jacks to hit 59 percent from the floor.
South Dakota State jumped in front for good at the 15:33 mark of the final period, but never got up by more than eight points. The offensive star in the final stanza was senior Trinity Hall, who had 13 of his 15 points in the period.
Kirksey finished with 16 points to pace the 'Roos, while Hall was the only other in double figures. Harrison and Frank Williams each tallied nine points. UMKC played without senior Fred Chatmon as well in the contest.
The 'Roos begin WAC play on Thursday with a trip to Idaho, followed by a contest at Seattle on Saturday.
