Kansas City
No. 4 Utah Valley
Roos Complete Dramatic Comeback to Knock Off Utah Valley, 80-78
3/10/2016 4:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Las Vegas, Nev.) - UMKC erased a 13-point second half deficit on Thursday in the WAC Tournament against fourth-seeded Utah Valley, taking an 80-78 decision, and advancing to the semifinals Friday night.
“I thought Utah Valley played their tails off, and our guys responded well obviously there in the second half and matched and exceeded their energy,” Head Coach Kareem Richardson said. “I'm really proud of the guys for sticking with it. For us, offensive rebounding was one of our keys offensively, and we did a much better job finishing near the rim in the second half.”
The fifth-seeded Roos (12-18) and Wolverines (12-18) went bucket for bucket through the first 15 minutes of the opening half, with seven ties and seven lead changes. In the final minutes though, Utah Valley got hot from three-point range and, went on a run. It hit three from beyond the arc in the final three minutes making it a 13-3 rally to end the half.
UMKC started hot, shooting 50 percent in the first 10 minutes, but cooled to finish hitting 33 percent in the period. Utah Valley stayed hot however, shooting 52 percent, including six threes to take a 44-31 advantage into the half.
Eight different Roos scored in the half, and UMKC had a 26-19 rebound edge, paced by 10 from Darius Austin. The halftime total matched his season-high for a game.
The second stanza was a different story though. UMKC trailed by 13 with 16:48 left, but started to pick it up offensively after that. By the 13:38 mark, the Roos trailed by only four thanks to an 11-2 run capped by a Martez Harrison layup.
The Wolverines kept the Roos at arm's length until under 11 minutes on the clock, when LaVell Boyd scored back-to-back buckets, capped with a three to tie the game at the 10:29 mark. UVU grabbed the advantage back, and held it for the next five minutes. With 6:35 left, the Wolverines were up 69-65, then Harrison took over. He scored the contest's next six points, including an offensive rebound and layup with 4:46 remaining to give the Roos their first lead of the second half.
UVU answered though, getting a Jaden Jackson three with 4:04 on the clock to make it a four point game. The Roos tied it again on a pair of Austin free throws a minute later, followed by back to back buckets from UMKC to make it a four-point lead with 2:11 on the clock.
The Wolverines were able to get within one with 50 seconds left, but that was as close as it would get, as the Roos stopped them on two possessions under 10 seconds to get the win. UVU had to settle for a half-court attempt at the buzzer that was off the mark.
Harrison tallied 22 points and eight rebounds, while Boyd had 18 points, hitting 4-of-5 from three-point land. Austin finished with his third career double-double, snagging a career-best 16 rebounds and putting up 12 points. UMKC out-rebounded UVU 49-34 in the game, including 17 offensive boards and 16 second chance points. The 49 rebounds were the most ever under Richardson.
UMKC will face top-seeded New Mexico State on Friday at 8 p.m. CT/ 6 p.m. PT in the WAC Tournament semifinals.
