Kansas City
USC-Upstate
Spartans Three With Nine Seconds Left Sinks Roos, 70-68
1/2/2016 4:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Spartanburg, S.C.) - UMKC made a second half comeback to take the lead, but a three by USC-Upstate with 9.9 seconds left gave the Spartans a 70-68 victory as the Roos last second layup rolled off the rim.
“You have to give Upstate credit for executing down the stretch,” UMKC Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “Excellent pass from their big guy out of the double team, and you have to tip your hat to them for making a big shot.”
UMKC (7-8) got a good look on the other end of the floor when Darius Austin took the ball the length of the court, but his layup to force overtime just rolled off the rim, and USCU (5-11) grabbed the rebound with two seconds left.
The opening period was a rough one for UMKC, as it turned the ball over 14 times. When it did get shots off, they were going in, but USCU took nine more attempts in the period. The opening 14 minutes of the half was as tight as could be, but the final six minutes was all Spartans as they tallied an 11-0 run over a span of three minutes to go up 33-23 with 3:19 on the clock.
They would take a 37-30 lead into the break, thanks to a shot near the buzzer by Malik Moore. UMKC shot 53 percent in the half, while Upstate hit 46 percent. Dashawn King led the Roos with 10 points in the period.
The final stanza saw UMKC jump out with some intensity and fix the mistakes from the opening half, led by Martez Harrison. After the Spartans built their lead to 11 with 14:45 on the clock, UMKC started to take control, and Harrison was the reason as UMKC started a 15-4 run. He scored or assisted on all 15 points in the rally, including a dish to LaVell Boyd for a three that gave the Roos a 59-58 lead with 7:07 to play.
“We need Martez' contributions, no doubt about it. He did a heck of a job leading the team in the second half.” Richardson said.
After USCU took the lead back, UMKC made its final run, scoring the next seven points thanks to a pair of buckets from Shayok Shayok and an old-fashioned three-point play from Boyd to make it a 66-62 lead with 4:34 to play. Unfortunately, the Roos didn't hit another field goal the rest of the way.
Harrison finished with 21 points in the game, with 14 coming in the second half, while also tallying six assists, five rebounds and three steals. King matched a career-high with 15 points, while nabbing four steals. Both Boyd and Shayok each tallied eight points. UMKC shot 50 percent from the floor, while USCU hit 47 percent. UMKC had only two turnovers in the second half, with seven assists.
UMKC will begin WAC play on Thursday at home, taking on Seattle at 7:05 p.m.
