Kansas City
No. 5 Idaho
Kangaroos Season Ends in Heartbreaking Fashion, 73-70 in WAC Tourney
3/13/2014 9:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Las Vegas, Nev.) – The UMKC men's basketball squad cut the score to one with 1:23 remaining, but Idaho hit its free throws late and survived a 73-70 WAC Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday at the Orleans arena.
“I'm really proud of how hard our seniors played today, and I want to thank them for their effort this year,” UMKC Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “Anytime your opponent makes more free throws than you attempt, it is a big factor, and (Idaho) had a good plan today, so you have to give them a lot of credit.”
The opening period was what you would expect from the fourth and fifth seeds, with 10 lead changes and tight margins. The 'Roos (10-20) largest lead was six, while the Vandals (15-17) led by four.
Kansas City took a 30-29 lead into the break, and did a solid defensive job on the Vandals, holding them to 35 percent shooting, while hitting 43 percent on the other end. Unfortunately for the 'Roos, the shots weren't falling from the perimeter, and it cost them in the second half.
The two squads battled back and forth to start the second period, as the game finished with 19 lead changes. The contest's key run came with 9:48 to play, as Idaho scored seven consecutive points to make it 56-50 over the next two minutes, the Vandals largest lead at that point in the game.
They would get their lead to as many as eight with 2:14 to play, but Kansas City closed it to one less than a minute later on a three in the corner by John Burke. The 'Roos then got the ball back with 56 seconds on the clock, but Idaho drew a charge, followed by a layup on the other end by WAC leading scorer Stephen Madison to get it back to three. The 'Roos missed their layup on the other end, and were forced to foul.
The Vandals hit both attempts to go up five with 10 seconds remaining, but Nelson Kirksey drilled a three with six seconds, and then UMKC put the Vandals on the line with three seconds. The second free throw attempt was missed, but Madison got the offensive rebound to seal the win.
Martez Harrison led the way for UMKC with 18 points and seven assists, while Kirksey tallied 15 points. Fred Chatmon had 12 points and seven boards in his final game as well. Madison had a monster game for the Vandals, tallying 26 points and 17 rebounds.
Kansas City finished its season with a better record than each of the last two seasons, and had its highest seed in the conference tournament since 2006.
