Kansas City
UTRGV
Vaqueros Hand Roos 71-66 Road Setback
1/16/2016 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Edinburg, Texas) - UMKC couldn't get enough key stops in the second half on Saturday night at UTRGV, and dropped a tight 71-66 decision. The Roos had a pair of three-point attempts in the final minute to take the lead, but both were off the mark.
“I thought we had some good looks from three there, and some drives where we missed some open layups,” UMKC Kareem Richardson said. “Most importantly, our defense allowed them to shoot almost 54 percent in the second half and that's not going to win any games at all.”
The opening period was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than five points, while there were six lead changes. UMKC (8-11, 1-3 WAC) was the early aggressor, taking a 12-7 lead with 13:37 to play, getting the Vaqueros (6-13, 2-2 WAC) in foul trouble. UTRGV would answer though, going on a 10-1 run to make it a 17-13 lead, it's largest of the half.
The Kangaroos bounced back and took the lead 23-22 on a LaVell Boyd three-pointer with 6:35 to play in the period, and a three by Darius Austin a couple minutes later gave the advantage to UMKC for the rest of the half. Just before the break, UMKC stretched it to four when Martez Harrison drilled a three with 25 seconds left, sending the Roos to the locker room up 33-29, just their fourth halftime lead of the season.
The final period was more cleanly played in terms of turnovers, as the two squads combined for only seven, but the difference proved to be shooting. UMKC went 1-of-11 from three in the stanza, while UTRGV hit 4-of-11. Not only that, the field goal percentages were well in favor of the Vaqueros, hitting 54 percent compared to 39 percent for the Roos.
UMKC stretched its lead to the largest of the night on the opening possession, with a Boyd three pushing it to seven, but it was short-lived, as the Vaqueros took the lead back by the 14:45 mark, 44-43. By the 11:10 mark, UTRGV was the team with a seven-point advantage, and it kept the pedal on, pushing it to as many as eight with 5:07 to play on an Antonio Green three-pointer.
Green scored all 16 of his points in the second half, hitting four big threes.
Even with that, the Roos battled back to get within two with 1:15 to play when Kyle Steward got an offensive rebound, and put it back with the foul for an old-fashioned three-point play.
After the Roos got a stop on the next possession, a three attempt by Harrison was off the mark, and UMKC forced a held ball on the rebound to get the ball back with 28 seconds left thanks to the possession arrow. The Roos got another open look from three, with Austin taking it from the wing with 19 seconds remaining, but it also missed, forcing the Roos to foul. The Vaqueros went 4-of-4 in the final seconds to seal it.
Austin paced the Roos with 15 points, while Boyd tallied 13 and Harrison scored 11. UMKC had only seven turnovers and outscored UTRGV 38-26 in the paint, but the Vaqueros hit enough outside shots to win it.
UMKC will start a three-game home stand on Thursday when Utah Valley comes to town for a 7:05 p.m. tipoff from Municipal Auditorium.
