Kansas City
Seattle U
'Roos Move to 2-0 on WAC Road Swing, Take Out Seattle 95-84
1/5/2014 1:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
(Seattle, Wash.) - UMKC moved to 2-0 to start league play for the first time since 2007, and 2-0 on the road to start conference action for the first time since 2005 on Saturday night, out-scoring Seattle University 95-84. The 'Roos led by as many as 22 in the second half, but the Redhawks came storming back to make a game of it.
“I'm extremely proud of these guys for going out and getting two wins on this road trip,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “I thought we got tentative with their pressure in the second half, and that's not our game, we needed to play aggressive, and once we did that we were fine.”
To say Kansas City (5-9, 2-0 WAC) came out on fire would be an understatement. It hit 10 three-pointers in the opening half, two more than it had in an entire game coming in. Nearly every attempt was left wide open by Seattle (8-6, 0-1 WAC), who couldn't catch up to the 'Roos ball movement on the perimeter. UMKC had 11 assists to only two turnovers in the half.
After a 4-0 start for Seattle, Kansas City hit five three-pointers over the next four minutes to take a 17-13 lead at the 14:03 mark. It continued that spurt with the next seven points to go up 11 before the Redhawks would score again. Each time SU made a run, UMKC answered with a bucket, and even pushed the advantage to as many as 16 with 1:27 on the clock. Seattle closed the half on a 5-0 rally though, and Kansas City went into the break leading 44-33.
Frank Williams led the way with 14 points in the period, going 4-of-6 from three-point land, while Nelson Kirksey and Martez Harrison each had eight. Harrison also had five assists as UMKC shot 51.6 percent. SU hit 46.9 percent, but Kansas City used a 9-0 advantage in points off turnovers to hold the lead.
The 'Roos came out strong to open the second stanza as well, scoring the first nine points to go up by 20 with 16:56 on the clock. The two squads traded buckets for the next three minutes before Kirksey took over, scoring seven straight UMKC points to go up 22 with 13:51 left, the largest lead of the day.
The Redhawks made their run starting around the 8 minute mark, scoring eight straight points off three Kangaroo turnovers on the press and trap to cut the score to 69-57 with seven minutes left. By the 5:24 mark the margin was cut to eight thanks to six straight points from Emerson Murray.
Kansas City never let the game get closer than two possessions though, with SU getting to within five with 1:18 remaining. Harrison answered with a huge layup and the foul though, pushing it back to eight, virtually sealing the game.
The point total was the highest of the season for the 'Roos, who finished shooting 11-of-20 from three-point range and 58 percent overall. They also hit 70 percent in the second half, but were only able to attempt 17 field goals in the period. For the game, Seattle attempted 24 more field goals than UMKC.
The 'Roos had five players in double-figures, led by Kirksey's career-high 25 points. Harrison tallied 19, while Williams had 16, Fred Chatmon put up 15, and Trinity Hall finished with 11. Seattle was paced by leading scorer Isiah Umipig with 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting.
Kansas City will host Chicago State on Saturday at Municipal Auditorium for a 5:15 p.m. tipoff. It will be the first of three straight at home. The contest will also be televised on KSMO in Kansas City and simulcast on ESPN3.
