Kansas City
Omaha
Omaha Uses Free Throws to Get Past UMKC in OT Thriller
11/17/2015 11:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Omaha, Neb.) - UMKC had some key miscues down the stretch and Omaha took advantage of a huge foul disparity on Tuesday night at Baxter Arena, forcing overtime and taking a 95-89 decision. UMKC was whistled for a school record 37 fouls, while the Mavericks shot 25 more free throws in the contest.
“A disappointing loss where you feel pretty good being up four with about 30 seconds left, and just needing one stop, up three with 17 seconds left,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “They got to the rim and we did exactly what was asked not to do, and we foul and give up an and-one, they tie the game and send it to overtime.”
UMKC led by four with 29 seconds left, but fouled UNO with 25 seconds left and they hit both free throws. The Mavs then fouled UMKC with 17 seconds left, but it made only one, making it a three point lead. On the other end, Devin Patterson hit a layup and was fouled with 12 seconds left, and he converted to tie the game. The UMKC three attempt was off the mark at the buzzer, and the teams went to overtime with the 'Roos already without three players due to foul-outs.
The Mavericks (2-1) jumped out to a quick start in the game's opening minutes, scoring the first seven points and getting up by as many as nine, but UMKC (1-2) never let it get too far away. Junior guard LaVell Boyd scored early on to keep the 'Roos close, before they eventually were able to tied it up at 22 on a Martez Harrison three-pointer with 8:54 on the clock.
Omaha answered and went back up by seven with 2:13 left, but threes by the 'Roos from Darius Austin, Harrison and Kyle Steward closed the gap and tied it at 39 going into the half.
UMKC came out firing in the second half, taking its first lead of the game after back-to-back buckets by Boyd. The 'Roos would lead the rest of the period until the final 12 seconds, going up by as many as 10, but the fouls would continue to pile up as Boyd, Shayok Shayok and Noah Knight all fouled out before the end of regulation, and Dashawn King fouling out in OT.
“It really messed up our rotations up with so many guys in foul trouble,” Richardson said. “We have to keep harping on our guys to play without using our hands and moving our feet. You know, it's tough looking at the stat sheet, and the way the game is being called, it makes it very tough. You look at the score, 95-89, and I believe the NCAA got what they wanted with the score going up.”
Despite the foul issues, UMKC was extremely efficient offensively when it had its full arsenal of players. The Roos shot 55 percent in the second half, and got contributions from all over the floor. Overtime was another story though, as they couldn't overcome the foul-outs to fall by a 12-6 margin.
Harrison tallied his third career double-double, matching a career-high with 11 assists to go with 18 points. Austin also tallied a double-double, his second ever, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Boyd finished with 17 points, while freshman Aleer Leek hit for 11 points, including three, three-pointers in the game.
Omaha was led by TreShawn Thurman with a career-high 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Patterson had 19 points. The Mavs hit 36-of-48 from the line in the game, while UMKC was 17-of-23. Omaha also scored 27 points off 20 UMKC turnovers in the contest.
The 'Roos will continue the road swing on Saturday night when it heads to Des Moines to face Drake at 7 p.m. in a game that will be shown on ESPN3.com.
