Kansas City
Bakersfield
Williams Three With 2.2 Seconds Left Gives 'Roos 70-69 Win at Bakersfield
1/26/2014 12:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball
(Bakersfield, Calif.) - Junior Frank Williams hit a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to give Kansas City an improbable 70-69 comeback win at Cal State-Bakersfield Saturday night. Freshman Martez Harrison drove into the middle and kicked the ball to Williams in the corner for the open game-winner.
“Tez, being the crafty point guard that he is, did a little dipsy-doo in the lane and I thought we weren't gonna get a shot off, but he saw in in a split second in the corner, and I have been making shots off his passes all year” Williams said. “He had faith in me and delivered the pass perfectly to get the shot off.”
UMKC (7-12, 4-3 WAC) trailed by 11 with 5:13 to play, and was down five with 1:24 left, but scored eight points in the final 1:18 to get the win. The lead was the first for the 'Roos since the 5:51 mark of the first half.
“We wanted to spread the floor and put as many shooters, “for us” in the game,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “Tez made a heck of a play and Frank, man, that was a big-time shot. I'm not just saying this because we won the game, but I thought we battled. It seemed a little bleak there when we were down 11, but they really dug in defensively and I'm very proud of those guys.”
It was a hotly contested first half, with both teams making runs to take leads. The 'Roos trailed in the early going 8-3, but a 13-2 run helped them get their largest advantage on the half with 7:18 remaining at 16-10. The Roadrunners (8-12, 1-5 WAC) answered with a run of their own though, scoring the next 14 points on the way to a 24-16 lead with 3:51 left. Kansas City closed the gap to as little as three, but CSUB held them off for a 31-27 halftime margin.
Harrison heated up toward the end of the half to lead the 'Roos with eight points. Cal State-Bakersfield was paced by leading scorer Issiah Grayson with 12. It was a physical half, with both teams getting chippy, and committing nine fouls each. Both teams shot only 33 percent from the floor.
The second half heated up for both teams, but especially Kansas City, who hit 53.6 percent from the floor. UMKC tied it at 35 in the opening 2:30, but CSUB went on an 8-0 run to take command of the game until the final stretch.
Kansas City locked it down the on defense though, holding the Roadrunners to only two made field goals over the final seven minutes, while scoring 20 on offensive end over the last 5:12.
With 1:18 left, Nelson Kirksey hit a three-pointer to cut the margin to two, followed by a steal and fastbreak layup by Harrison with 47 seconds left, tying the game at 67. Brandon Barnes gave the lead back to CSUB with 15 seconds left on a bucket in the paint, setting the stage for Williams. The 'Runners had an attempt from half-court at the buzzer, but it missed far left.
Harrison led the way for UMKC with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals with only one turnover, to go with a career-high six rebounds and nearly 40 minutes played. Kirksey tallied 13 points, while Williams finished with 12. Caleb Johnson also pulled down a career-best seven rebounds in his home state of California. The 'Roos nearly cost themselves at the line, hitting only 16-of-27 attempts, while Bakersfield was perfect, going 15-of-15 from the stripe.
The 'Roos will face Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday in their last non-conference game of the season at 7:00 p.m. in Cape Girardeau.
