Kansas City
Missouri
UMKC Stuns Mizzou in Season Opener on the Road, 69-61
11/15/2014 12:29:00 AM | Men's Basketball
(Columbia, Mo.) - UMKC men's basketball got its first win over a BCS conference team since 2003 on Monday, in Kareem Richardson's second season, taking out the Missouri Tigers 69-61 behind 26 points from Martez Harrison.
“I'm not going to sit here and fool anybody,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “It's big for our program. But it can't be the biggest one for us this year. We have to build on it and look forward to the next challenge.”
The 'Roos (1-0) took a 7-5 lead on a Darius Austin jumper with 14:13 on the clock, marking the last lead change of the night. UMKC would lead the rest of the game, and used that bucket to spark a 14-4 run to go up by a 19-9 margin.
The 'Roos tallied five threes in the opening half, including a pair from freshman Collin Jennings to extend its advantage into the break. The Tigers were bothered by the UMKC zone defense, and were unable to put together long enough runs to get a lead. Its closest margin the rest of the opening half was four with 5:34 left. The 'Roos answered that with another run though, and went into the break with a 33-24 lead.
UMKC's defense proved to be the difference, holding MU to 33 percent in the opening half, while also holding a 23-17 rebound edge agains the bigger Tigers. Harrison led the 'Roos with seven at the half, while offensively the team shot 41 percent.
The second stanza was just a matter of answering every MU run for the 'Roos. Harrison was the answer for much of it, scoring 19 of his 26 in the period. Each time the Tigers cut the lead to a single possession, UMKC reacted well. Perhaps more impressively, the 'Roos did it without the services of starters Reese Holliday in the second half due to injury, and Noah Knight, who didn't play at all for the same reason.
With just more than 10 minutes left, MU cut the margin to three, but junior Shayok Shayok hit a jumper in the paint to get it back to five. UMKC would get that advantage back up to nine with 6:18 left on a three by freshman Deshon Taylor. The Tigers could only get the margin to within four the rest of the way, and UMKC hit its free throws down the stretch to seal it.
The victory was the first over a BCS school since 2003 against Kansas State, and marked the eight time that UMKC has defeated a BCS team. The win was also the first ever over Missouri in four tries.
Harrison hit 15-of-16 from the line, while as a team the 'Roos were 23-of-29 for 79.3 percent. It was the highest free throw percentage in a game for UMKC in the Richardson era. Harrison's 15 makes were the highest for a 'Roo from the line since 1994 when Tony Dumas hit 18.
The 'Roos finished the night shooting 37 percent, but held the hosts to only 38 percent shooting, while taking a 43-38 rebound edge and shot 13 more free throws. Broderick Newbill led the 'Roos on the glass with eight on the night, while Frank Williams matched a career-high with seven boards to go with seven points. Shayok finished with 10 points and seven rebounds as well.
The 'Roos, who won their season opener for the first time since 2010, handed the Tigers their first season debut loss since 2005.
UMKC will head to Kansas State on Monday night for a 7 p.m. contest at Bramlage Coliseum. The game will also be a part of the EA Sports Maui Invitational Opening Round.
Press Conference Quotes:
UMKC HEAD COACH KAREEM RICHARDSON
Opening Statement...
"It was obviously a defensive battle, both teams defended very well. It's very exciting for our guys to come out and play like we did on the defensive end. I thought we struggled offensively, because it took us awhile, and we picked it up. I am really pleased with Martez. I feel he did a great job throwing down free throws. He shot fifteen out of sixteen of his free throws. We shot 80 percent as a team, which was great for us."
On how does tonight's result feel...
"First game in, Coach Anderson's team is a lot similar to ours in terms of new pieces. He is a new coach, so he is trying to get his thing squared away. I won't sit here and try to fool anybody, this is a big win for our program, but it can't be the biggest for us this year. We just have to keep building, and we look forward to our next challenge at Kansas State."
On anyone on Missouri's team that was important to stop...
"I thought all three of their guards are really good. Clark, Shamburger and Isabell, all those guys are tremendous scorers. We had to get back in transitions to stop those guys because they are fast on the court."
On how well UMKC handled Missouri's front court...
"On both ends of the floor, I thought Shayok gave us a great lift on the offensive glass, and Broderick Newbill defensively did a really good job. One guy we have been on about rebounding is Frank Williams. Tonight, I am really proud of the effort he gave. We scramble a lot, and we may not be the biggest or the most athletic, but we must do it by committing."
Guard Martez Harrison
On how big of a confidence boost this game can be..
"It's really big, to piggy back off of what Coach said. With a lot of new guys, it's a big boost not only for me as a captain, but for us all."
On forcing Missouri into being a jump-shooting team...
"That's Coach's call. He's a great coach. He tells us to pressure the basketball, and to go out there and have a lot of fun and that's what we try to do."
On how important getting to the free throw line was tonight...
"It was really big, going back on last year, I didn't shoot that well from the line. That's one thing the coaches always preach to me before practice and after practice to stand out there at that free throw line, because it is very important as a leader on this team to knock them down."
