Kansas City
Utah Valley (Senior Night)
Kansas City Rolls League-Leading Utah Valley on Senior Night, 74-56
2/22/2014 11:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - UMKC came to play on Saturday night, leading for the final 36 minutes and coasting to a 74-56 win against WAC-leading Utah Valley. Kansas City celebrated Senior Night in the win and snapped its six-game skid in convincing fashion.
“I am extremely proud of these seniors,” UMKC Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “We really played well defensively tonight and executed on offense when we needed to. It was a complete effort.”
Kansas City (8-18, 5-8 WAC) put together a near flawless first half, holding UVU (16-10, 10-3 WAC) to only 35.7 percent shooting, while hitting 53.6 percent. The 'Roos made only one turnover, and took an 18-16 rebound edge as well.
Martez Harrison, the eighth-leading freshman scorer in the nation, had the hot hand in the first half, coming off the bench to score 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Richardson started five seniors in the contest in both halves.
After a back and forth opening four minutes, Kansas City started to assert itself. A Trinity Hall layup with 16:03 on the clock gave UMKC the lead for good. The next four minutes was all 'Roos as they grew their advantage to 15-7. By the 9:50 mark the lead was 11, but UVU battled back to get it down to six with 6:37 left.
The squads traded punches until the final possession of the period, when Richardson put Kirk Korver and Caleb Johnson in the game, both capable three-point shooters, and both taller than 6-7. The matchup worked to perfection as Korver dished a pass to Johnson from the top of the key to the left side, and he buried a three at the buzzer to send the 'Roos into the half up 36-25.
The 'Roos didn't let up to start the second stanza either, going on a 15-3 run to push its lead to a game-high 23 with 15:17 to play. The Wolverines could never get closer than 15 the rest of the night as the UMKC defense made it difficult to score on consecutive possessions, while hitting big shots to answer multiple times.
Senior Nelson Kirksey was the big performer in the final half for the 'Roos, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the period on 5-of-8 shooting, including three from beyond the arc.
The 'Roos held UVU to only 36 percent shooting in the game, the lowest for a UMKC opponent in conference play this year. UMKC shot 50 percent from the floor, including 9-of-20 from three-point land against the top defensive squad in the WAC. The shooting percentage was the highest for UMKC since January 4 against Seattle (.583).
Harrison finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals, all UMKC highs, while Kirksey was the only other in double figures. All five seniors scored in the game as well.
The 'Roos will head to Phoenix, Ariz. for their final road game of the regular season on Thursday against Grand Canyon at 8:00 p.m. CT.
