Kansas City
Minnesota
Minnesota Pulls Away in Second Half, Hands 'Roos Season Opening Defeat
11/13/2015 11:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Minneapolis, Minn.) - UMKC played right with the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the first 25 minutes on Friday night at the Williams Center, but in the end the home team pulled away for a 76-58 final margin. Junior guard LaVell Boyd impressed for UMKC in his debut, scoring 25 points to lead UMKC.
“They had a steady dose of threes in the second half that weren't very well contested by us,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “You have to give them credit, Richard (Pitino) knows the system well and made some adjustments to get us out of our normal defense. Offensively, their length really bothered us, we were at the rim, but couldn't finish. We have to learn not to let our offensive performance dictate how we play defense.”
The opening period started well for the 'Roos (0-1), taking an early lead thanks to open three pointers from four different players. The first 15 minutes of the game, UMKC's defense held the Gophers (1-0) to only 16 points. UMKC pushed its lead to as many as nine on two occasions, including a 20-11 margin with 6:26 on the clock, but by the 3:29 mark, Minnesota had tied it at 22.
After the Gophers took a 25-22 lead with 2:39 left, UMKC got a scoring streak from Boyd, scoring the next eight 'Roo points to make it a 30-27 lead. The Gophers closed the half on a 5-0 run though, and went into the half leading 32-30. He had 14 points at the half to lead all scorers, as both teams shot only 38 percent.
“LaVell offensively gave us a spark, and looked very confident out there,” Richardson said. “Unlike Hawaii Pacific, where I though nerves got the best of him. He shot with a great amount of poise. They really keyed on Martez tonight with two and sometimes three guys.”
Harrison was held to just five points and 1-of-7 shooting thanks to those double and triple-teams, while dishing out six assists and making seven turnovers.
The second half saw Minnesota extend its lead to eight, but Boyd hit another three and cut it down to as little as three with 15:54 remaining. That is when UM started to pull away though, going up by 13 with 11:15 remaining on a Joey King three.
From there, the lead ballooned to as many as 21 before the final margin. King led the Gophers with six threes and 22 points. In all, there were three ties and five lead changes in the game.
UMKC shot 32 percent in the game, and only 27 percent in the second half, while UM shot 54 percent in the final half. Both teams hit 12 three-pointers (matching a high under Richardson), but UMKC turned it over 17 times. UMKC did hold a 42-37 advantage on the glass, including 16 offensive boards, but inside the three point line, the Roos were just 8-of-38 shooting.
The 'Roos will host William Jewell on Sunday night in their home opener at Municipal Auditorium at 6:05 p.m.
