Kansas City
Southeast Missouri State
SEMO Outscores Kangaroos in Non-Conference Tilt, 91-81
1/29/2014 9:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Cape Girardeau, Mo.) - The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks edged Kansas City late on the road Wednesday night in a high-scoring contest, 91-81. The Redhawks shot 58 percent and scored 62 points in the paint.
The 'Roos (7-13) and Redhawks (12-10) spent most of their energy on the offensive end in the opening half. The squads combined for 82 points, while SEMO hit 50 percent from the floor and Kansas City hit six threes as well as a 9-of-10 clip from the line. There were two ties and six lead changes during the half, with each team using mini-runs to get on top. The Redhawks largest lead was seven, while the 'Roos biggest was four. SEMO took a 43-39 advantage into the half.
Tyler Stone, who torched UMKC for 28 points last season, was up to it again in the opening half, tallying a team-high 12 points on 6-of-9 from the floor. The Redhawks took advantage of eight UMKC turnovers to score 11 points, and had 32 points in the paint during the half. Martez Harrison had nine points at the break to lead the way for UMKC.
The second stanza saw Kansas City score the first four points to tie it at 43, but SEMO didn't take long to grab the lead back, breaking a 45-all tie with a 6-0 run at the 16:32 mark. The 'Roos didn't let it get away from them, even though SEMO led the rest of the way. The Redhawks largest lead over the first 18 minutes of the final half was just eight, and UMKC was within a possession during much of that time.
The closest margin was one after a couple Fred Chatmon free throws with 8:19 left, but UMKC couldn't convert on two chances to take the lead, including a pair of missed free throws. The clincher came with just 1:43 left when SEMO drilled a three-pointer to push the lead to nine.
In the end the 'Roos just couldn't get any stops, as the Redhawks shot 71 percent in the final half. Kansas City shot only 38 percent for the game, and attempted 28 three-pointers, although it hit 11 of them.
Stone continued his big game, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while point guard Lucas Nutt dished out 11 assists.
The 'Roos were paced by Caleb Johnson, who set a career-high with 15 points, the second time in three games he raised his high. Four others finished in double figures with Harrison tallying 14, Frank Williams scoring 12, Nelson Kirksey putting up 11 and Trinity Hall with 11. Chatmon also had 10 rebounds.
The 'Roos will get back into conference play on Saturday night when they host Grand Canyon in the last game of the first round of conference play at 7:05 p.m.
