Kansas City
Bakersfield
Bakersfield Takes 74-69 Foul-Fest Over Kansas City
2/20/2014 11:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – In a game that saw 53 fouls and 74 free throw attempts, Bakersfield held on to a late lead and exacted revenge on an earlier loss to Kansas City, winning 74-69 on Thursday night at Municipal Auditorium.
UMKC (7-18, 4-8 WAC) has now lost a season-high six straight games, while Bakersfield (12-14, 5-7 WAC) is going the other direction, winning their third in a row.
The 'Roos couldn't get stops on the defensive end, allowing the Roadrunners to shoot 51 percent in the game. On the other end of the floor, Kansas City struggled as well, shooting only 36.5 percent in the outing, and 18-of-32 from the foul line. CSUB dared Kansas City to shoot threes, and it payed off as the 'Roos hit only 5-of-26 from beyond the arc.
The contest started quickly for the guests, scoring the first five points. UMKC would cut it back to one at the 13:56 mark, and again with 4:29 remaining, but CSUB never let the 'Roos tie or take the lead. The game slowed to a crawl the last four minutes of the half though, with each team making only one field goal. Fortunately for the 'Runners, it was a three from Issiah Grayson to send them into the break with a 29-24 lead.
The 'Roos hit only 31 percent in the half, but forced 10 CSUB turnovers to keep it close. A pair of freshmen were the leaders for the 'Roos with Martez Harrison and Isaac Kreuer each putting up eight points, while Harrison had a career-high seven boards in the half.
The 'Runners rallied at the 17:06 mark of the final stanza when Grayson hit another three, sparking a 10-1 run to make it 45-32 with 13:57 left. That's when the entire game came to a halt, with fouls and free throws. 59 of the 74 free throws took place in the final stanza, while 35 of the 53 fouls did as well.
Five different players fouled out in the game, but it wasn't a pretty display from the line for either team. Bakersfield hit only 62 percent of their attempts (26-of-42).
Kansas City trailed by seven with 5:37 to play, but the Roadrunners pushed it back to 14 with 1:38 on the clock. They started to slide down the stretch with the 'Roos full-court pressure though, and within a span of 1:30, Kansas City had the lead down to just four with eight seconds left. Unfortunately for the 'Roos it was too late though.
Harrison finished with a crazy stat line for UMKC, earning his first career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, to go with seven assists and three steals. The bad part was he went only 6-of-17 from the floor, and 7-of-16 from the free throw line, including three air balls. Kreuer also set a career-best with 11 points, while Trinity Hall and Nelson Kirksey finished with 13 and 12, respectively. Grayson led CSUB with 23 points, while Aly Ahmed had 19.
UMKC will host league-leading Utah Valley on Saturday night, when they will be celebrating senior night. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. with the six seniors being honored after the game.
