Kansas City
CSU Bakersfield
Joiner's Free Throws Are Difference in CSU Bakersfield Win
1/18/2019 1:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? Jarkel Joiner connected on three free throws with .2 seconds remaining to lift host CSU Bakersfield (12-6, 4-1 WAC) to a 74-73 victory over UMKC (7-10, 2-1 WAC) tonight in Western Athletic Conference play. The game was full of back-and-forth action in the second half as the Roos dropped their first league game of the year.
In a flurry of action under a minute to play, Brandon McKissic nailed what looked to be the eventual game-winner, a triple with 41.1 seconds remaining, to put the Roos on top 73-71. But after a failed 3-point attempt by Joiner was deflected out of bounds under their basket with .9 seconds left, the Roadrunners got one more chance.
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In the far left corner, Joyner took an inbounds pass on the baseline and attempted a 3-pointer. On the play, the officials whistled a foul against the Roos and Joiner, with his three free throws, sent the Runners to their seventh-straight home win to start the season.
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UMKC trailed for most of the first half and was down 39-30 after a Rickey Holden jumper in the first minute of the second stanza. But that is when the Roos made their charge.
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Jordan Giles splashed a free throw, followed by four-straight points by McKissic, to get the Roos back in the game. McKissic's lay-up at the 13:40 mark pushed the Blue and White on top, 46-45, for its first lead of the second half. The game continued to be closely contested until the end.
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No team led by more than four points down the stretch. In fact, there were three ties and five lead changes in the game's final five minutes.
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UMKC head coach Kareem Richardson appreciated his team's toughness.
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“Our guys showed a tremendous amount of grit tonight,” said Richardson. “There were many ebbs and flows throughout the game. We put ourselves in a position to win, but unfortunately we came up short.”
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CSU Bakersfield grabbed momentum late in the first half to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room. Justin Edler-Davis swished a trey to cap a mini 7-2 run for the Runners. The Roos shot just 31 percent (8 of 26) in the first half.
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Xavier Bishop and McKissic were the second-half catalysts as the duo combined for 24 points in the final 20 minutes. Both scorers looked for their shot and slashed to the basket earning their points.
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Bishop finished with a team-high 19 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. The junior guard hit for his 15th-straight game of double-digit points thanks to his propensity to get into the paint area and make acrobatic shots.
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McKissic collected 13 points and two blocked shots, followed by 11 from Marvin Nesbitt Jr. and 10 from Giles. Nesbitt notched his third overall 10-plus point game of the year, and second straight. The nine rebounds is a career-high for the native of Chicago, Ill.
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Joyner, who entered the game shooting 63% from the foul line, netted a team-high tying 16 points for the Runners. He shared scoring honors with Justin Edler-Davis, who also contributed a team-high eight rebounds.
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Next Up:
- The Roos head south to Phoenix, Ariz., for a date with Grand Canyon on Saturday. Tip from the GCU Arena is set for 9 p.m. CT.
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Notables:
- With his 19 points tonight, Xavier Bishop currently stands with 860 career points, which puts him No. 18 on the career UMKC list. He trails Nick Richmond (1995-99) with 873 points.
- Bishop now has 40 career double-digit scoring games, which is by far the active leader in that category.
- With 10 three-pointers made tonight, the Roos have gone for 10-or-more in six games this year. They are 4-2 in those contests.
- The starting line-up tonight of Leek, Giles, Nesbitt Jr., Bishop and McKissic is the seventh different starting five this year for coach Richardson. The group is now 1-1 as starters.
- After opening the year 0-6, UMKC is 7-5 in its last 12 games.
- Playing at CSU Bakersfield has been a difficult task as the Roos have now dropped five-straight in California. Overall, the series belongs to CSU Bakersfield, 8-3.
