Kansas City
Idaho
Idaho Uses Late Run to Stop 'Roos Win Streak, 87-80, Will Meet Again Thursday
3/9/2014 1:12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – In a game of huge momentum swings, the Idaho Vandals delivered the biggest blow, taking out Kansas City with a late rally 87-80. The two will play again on Thursday in a grudge match in the WAC Tournament, and both squads knew of that fate before the contest began.
The run that proved to be the difference was a big one, 25-2 over a span of five minutes that turned a 10-point UMKC lead into a 13-point Idaho advantage.
“I thought we stopped sharing the basketball offensively during that run and took some quick, ill-advised shots.” UMKC Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “Those bad shots led to some quick transition buckets for them as we weren't able to get our defense set.”
The 'Roos (10-19, 7-9 WAC) didn't close out on defense in the opening half, and as a result the Vandals (14-17, 7-9 WAC) made them pay from the three-point line, hitting 7-of-13, including four from Connor Hill.
By the 7:21 mark Idaho was up by 12 points and had 33 on the board, but UMKC got stingy on the defensive end the rest of the way, holding the guests to only five points. The 'Roos cut the margin to four with 4:12 remaining on a three-pointer by Nelson Kirksey, but the Vandals hit for five straight to put it back to nine. Kansas City would score the final six points of the half though, and went into the break down just three at 38-35.
Kirksey led the 'Roos with 12 points at the half, while Idaho got 17 from WAC leading scorer Stephen Madison and 12 from Hill. The Vandals shot 50 percent, while UMKC hit 48 percent.
Kansas City started the second half right where it left off in the first as it hit for the first six points to take a 41-38 lead on a Frank Williams three-pointer. It was the first lead of the game for the 'Roos, who had held Idaho to only five points over seven minutes, spanning both halves.
The 'Roos lead grew to nine by the 16:14 mark, and after the Vandals cut it to two with 12:15 on the clock, Kansas City struck again with a pair of threes from Williams to get control. With 9:38 to play, UMKC was leading 60-50, and two minutes later it looked as if it would cruise to the win, still holding a 10-point advantage. That is when the run started. By the 2:03 mark the Vandals were up 13, and the 'Roos could get no closer than five the rest of the way.
Madison finished with 26 points, while Hill tallied 24 for the Vandals. UMKC was paced by Kirksey with 20, while Martez Harrison finished with 18 points and a career-high matching eight assists. Williams had 13 of his 16 in the second half, while Trinity Hall tallied 11 points.
The Vandals shot 51 percent in the game, and hit 11 threes, while UMKC shot 48 percent and also hit 11 three-pointers. The difference came at the line as Idaho was 22-of-28 while the 'Roos were 9-of-19.
The 'Roos are the No. 4 seed in the WAC Tournament, and will play fifth-seeded Idaho at 4:30 p.m. CT on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the WAC Tournament. It is the highest seed for UMKC since 2006, when it was a No. 3 seed.
