Kansas City
Rockhurst
Kangaroos Move to 6-0 at Home, Take Out Hawks, 71-60
12/19/2015 7:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - UMKC shot 67 percent in the second half, and out-scored Rockhurst by 20 in the period on the way to a 71-60 win Saturday at Municipal Auditorium, improving its home record to 6-0 on the year.
“I thought our press was good for us, and we talked about our pressure wearing those guys down,” UMKC Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “We stuck with it, and in the second half we started playing our brand of basketball.”
UMKC (7-4) struggled offensively in the first half, hitting only 32 percent, while also missing several free throws, as it started 3-of-11 from the line. It was the second-worst shooting first half of the year. The Hawks (5-3) took advantage of the shooting woes, and led by as many as 13 with 10:30 to play in the period.
The Roos settled down on the defensive end, holding RU to only 35 percent shooting, and were able to get the Hawks in foul trouble as well, with 12 in the period. The difference proved to be how well RU shot from the line, hitting 12-of-12 in the half.
By the 7:37 mark the game was only a five-point spread, but Rockhurst would push that advantage back up, and went into the half with a 34-25 lead.
The opening two minutes of the second stanza was all Hawks as well, pushing the lead to as many as 14 with 18:09 on the clock. That is when the UMKC offense got going, adding to the stellar defensive effort. It used an 11-0 run to cut the margin back down to three by the 14:04 mark. The Hawks pushed it back to six on some free throws, but a three by freshman forward Aleer Leek with 10:09 on the clock gave the Roos their first lead of the day, 44-43.
The Hawks hit two more free throws (RU hit its first 25 free throws of the game) to take the lead again, but eight straight points, keyed by back-to-back threes from sophomore Darius Austin gave UMKC the advantage for good.
UMKC pushed its advantage to 11 with 4:38 to play, during the whole rally, held RU without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes. A pair of LaVell Boyd free throws with 21 seconds left gave UMKC its largest lead of the day at 14. Boyd scored 10 of his 14 points in the final half.
In the period, UMKC out-scored RU 22-2 in the paint, and shot 67 percent, while holding the Hawks to only 26 percent shooting.
For the game, the Roos posted four players in double figures, led by 16 points from Martez Harrison, 14 from Boyd, 11 from Dashawn King and 10 from Austin. Harrison also posted five assists, while Austin had three steals. The 'Roos shot 48 percent for the game, while RU hit 31 percent. Harrison also moved to No. 2 all-time in free throws made, passing Michael Watson, with 399 in his career.
The 'Roos have now won eight straight home games dating back to last season, and 12 of its last 13 at Municipal Auditorium.
UMKC will head out on the road for its next four games to close out the non-conference slate, starting with the nationally ranked Louisville Cardinals in the Billy Minardi Classic on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CT.
