UMKC Sports Information
5100 Rockhill Road
207 Swinney Recreation Center
Kansas City, MO 64110
PH: 816-235-1034
FAX: 816-235-1035
www.UMKCKangaroos.com
FOR RELEASE: February 15, 2012
CONTACT: Rob McCutcheon, (816) 235-1034
Leathernecks Stifle ‘Roos on the Road, 47-42
(Macomb, Ill.) – Western Illinois played at the pace it wanted on Wednesday night, and took a
47-42 victory over UMKC to split the season series.
The Kangaroos (10-18, 4-12 SL) remain tied with South Dakota and IPFW in the league
standings, while IUPUI clinched its tournament berth. USD is ineligible for the tournament, so
there is now one spot remaining between the ‘Roos and IPFW with two games to play, including
a head-to-head battle in the season finale on February 25.
UMKC continued to struggle on the road, dropping its ninth straight game away from Swinney.
It was the final contest of the season on the road though, with all three of its remaining games
taking place in Kansas City.
The opening half was slow, with each team putting up only 17 points. The ‘Roos shot a
respectable 43 percent from the floor, and led by as many as five early on, but took only 16 shots
in the entire half. The ‘Roos also made eight turnovers, while WIU (14-11, 8-8 SL) took nine
more shots and had only two miscues. The Leathernecks were held to only 32 percent shooting
though.
No player had more than five points for either team in the 17-17 halftime score. The action
picked up in the final stanza, with WIU jumping out to a quick 26-20 lead in the opening three
minutes. The Kangaroos had the game tied at 27 by the 14:05 mark though, thanks to eight
points from senior guard Reggie Chamberlain.
The Leathernecks took a brief lead, but the ‘Roos again tied it at 35 with just more than six
minutes left. WIU leading scorer Ceola Clark made the game’s biggest plays down the stretch
though. He was fouled shooting a three, and hit all three free throws to give the lead to WIU,
then extended that lead to five with 2:26 left on a pull-up 17-footer from the top of the key.
The Kangaroos could never get it under a two-possession game from there, with WIU grabbing a
couple big offensive boards off missed free throws to seal it. In all, the Leathernecks pulled
down 10 offensive boards and out-rebounded the ‘Roos 29-25.
Chamberlain led all scorers with 14 points on 4-of-5 three-pointers in the contest, while three
Leathernecks had 10 points apiece to pace their balanced attack. UMKC shot only 36 percent in
the final period, while WIU hit 62.5 percent.
UMKC will step out of conference play on Saturday with the Sears BracketBuster game against
Wright State. The contest will be televised on Fox College Sports, and it will start at 4:05 p.m.
from Swinney Recreation Center.
- 2011-12 UMKC Men’s Basketball -