Kansas City
No. 7 Texas-Pan American
'Roos Advance to WAC Semifinals with 70-61 Victory Over UTPA
3/12/2015 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Las Vegas, Nev.) – It was a slow start, but a strong finish on Thursday night in the WAC Tournament for UMKC, as it took a 70-61 victory over Texas-Pan American, advancing to Friday night's semifinal round.
“It was obviously a very hard fought game by both teams. Our guys did a good job of sticking with it after a slow start to begin the game,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “We were a little tight, especially on offense, early, but we finally settled in then foul trouble kind of hampered us a little bit. I'm proud of the guys for sticking with the game plan.”
It was the first win at a conference tournament since 2007 for UMKC, defeating Valparaiso in the Mid-Continent Conference.
UMKC (14-18) started the game slow on the offensive end, and got into foul trouble, putting them in an early hole. The Broncs (10-21) jumped out to a nine-point advantage in the first 10 minutes, the largest lead it has had all year against the 'Roos. During the stretch, UMKC hit only 3-of-13 shots.
The advantage didn't last long though, as UMKC rallied to tie it at 23 on a Reese Holliday three with 5:30 on the clock. The Kangaroos took their first lead of the game with 3:22 on the clock when Deshon Taylor hit a three to make it 28-27. They would lead the rest of the half, and went into the break at 33-29.
The 'Roos heated up to make that run, and finished the half shooting 44 percent. They also had an 18-16 rebound edge in a fairly even period. The Broncs hit 44 percent as well, but shot 12 free throws compared to eight for UMKC. The 'Roos had five different players pick up two fouls in the half as well.
The second stanza started well for UTPA, as they tied the score at 38 with 17:30 to play. The 'Roos answered though, and led the rest of the night. They went on a 19-9 run over the next six minutes to take a 57-47 lead. A Martez Harrison three-point play with 9:48 left gave the 'Roos their largest lead of the night at 13, and the closest the Broncs could get from there was seven with 41 seconds left.
UTPA had to play without its leading scorer, Janari Joesaar for much of the night, as he left with an injury in the first five minutes of the game.
UMKC was able to make turnovers turn into points in the second half, taking a 14-0 scoring advantage in that category. The other difference was free throws, as the 'Roos took five more than the Broncs in the second half.
Missouri-Kansas City was led by Holliday, who tallied 18 points and pulled down eight boards, while Taylor finished with a career-best 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Harrison put up 14 points and had six assists, while Frank Williams grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
UMKC will face off against No. 3 seed Seattle on Friday in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. PT/10:30 CT. The Redhawks came back from a huge deficit against No. 6 Chicago State to claim a 49-45 win in their quarterfinal matchup.
