Kansas City
CSU Bakersfield
Second Half Comeback Falls Short, Roos Drop Game to Roadrunners
1/9/2016 10:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - UMKC was in too deep of a hole after the opening period, and its second half comeback bid fell short on Saturday night at Municipal Auditorium against Bakersfield, 83-72.
In the process, the nine-game home court win streak was snapped, as well as its perfect 7-0 start to this season.
“They came out with a great deal of intensity,” UMKC Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “You have to give them a lot of credit, they executed their game plan to perfection. We were unable to get enough stops and finish enough plays in order to really make them nervous in the end there.”
The Roos (8-9, 1-1 WAC) dug themselves into a deep hole in the opening period, as CSU Bakersfield (11-5, 1-0 WAC) jumped out to a quick 22-7 advantage by the 11:51 mark.
The big first half was thanks in part to Damiyne Durham, who hit 5-of-6 threes, while center Aly Ahmed posted 11 points. UMKC's defense struggled, but its offense was cold as well, shooting only 36 percent. That combined with 55 percent shooting for CSUB proved to be a killer for the Roos. By the 3:11 mark of the opening half, the Roadrunners were up by 27 points.
UMKC closed the gap a little bit before the break, but went into the half trailing by its largest margin of the year at 47-25.
The second stanza was much better for the Roos as they shot 52 percent, and cut the CSUB margin down. The 'Runners led by 27 with 15:19 to play, but that is when UMKC finally started to make up ground, getting it to 18 on an Aleer Leek three with 12:04 left. By the 8:13 mark it was down to 12 after a LaVell Boyd three.
By the 5:13 mark though, CSUB pushed it back to 17 on a 5-0 spurt. The Roos had another run in them though, getting a three from Broderick Newbill with 2:19 on the clock to get the score to only nine at 79-70. UMKC was forced to foul after the next possession that saw CSUB's Brent Wrapp throw a shot while lying on the floor from 25 feet away as the shot clock expired. It hit the rim, and CSUB secured the rebound. They hit 4-of-4 from the line down the stretch to seal it.
Martez Harrison led the way for UMKC with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Shayok Shayok tallied 12 points, while Boyd and Newbill scored 11 each. For the game, UMKC shot 44 percent while Bakersfield shot 52 percent. The Runners also had a 40-28 advantage in points in the paint, as well as 12-2 in fastbreak points.
The Roos will be on the road starting Thursday at New Mexico State, followed by a Saturday contest at UTRGV.
