KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Junior
Alex Young scored a career-high 32 points but UMKC got 51 points from the duo of Jay Couisnard and Spencer Johnson en route to an 85-77 double overtime win over IUPUI at Swinney Recreation Center on Thursday night. Johnson splashed two key threes, including a game-tying hit with 3.4 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. He later capped the scoring in the first overtime period with a trey with 1:28 remaining and Young misfired at the horn to send the game to a second OT.
In the second extra period, UMKC (11-8, 4-4 Summit) scored the first four points before senior
John Ashworth hit his only field goal of the game – a three from the right wing. However, after a timeout, Couisnard re-energized his troops with an emphatic dunk after UMKC broke the full-court press, making it 73-70.
IUPUI (11-10, 5-3) closed within one when senior
Leroy Nobles hit a pair of free throws, but UMKC responded with a Dustin Dibble putback with 1:07 to play. After Young turned it over, IUPUI was forced to foul. UMKC’s Reggie Chamberlain made six free throws in the final 32 seconds to seal the win.
The loss snapped IUPUI’s seven-game winning streak over the ‘Roos.
“Winning on the road in this league is tough, no question,” IUPUI Head Coach
Ron Hunter said. “I thought we fought hard, but we just didn’t always execute. We should have won it in regulation, but they made shots and they made plays. That’s a testament to their basketball team.
“The good or bad part of it is that we’ve got to get ready for Southern Utah in less than 48 hours in a gym that’s more than a thousand miles away. That’s definitely not easy.”
After a tightly contested first half, IUPUI finally pulled out to a 45-34 second half lead with 11:04 to play in regulation. Young and Nobles fueled the rally, including hitting back-to-back threes, prompting a UMKC timeout. After Nobles hit a short jumper at the 9:24 mark, UMKC roared back with a 12-0 run to take a 50-47 lead with under five minutes to play.
After an IUPUI timeout, Young stroked a 27-footer to tie the score and later put the Jags in front with a runner with 2:50 left. The Jags continued to get defensive stops until UMKC was forced to start fouling in the final minute. Young proceeded to make 7-of-8 free throws, but the hosts repeatedly scored at the other end to keep it a one possession game. After Young’s final two makes came with 10.8 seconds left, Johnson swished a game-tying three after a kick out pass from Chamberlain freed him.
Sophomore
Sean Esposito missed a half court heave as time expired.
In the first OT, UMKC got up by three but relinquished six straight points to the Jags until Johnson’s fifth three of the game tied the score.
Johnson finished with 24 points and nine boards and Couisnard ended with 27 points and 12 boards before fouling out in the second overtime. Chamberlain added 14 including a perfect 10-of-10 at the line and freshman Trinity Hall scored 10, but fouled out in regulation.
Young was 10-of-24 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the foul line and topped the 30-point mark for the second time in his career. He climbed to eighth on IUPUI’s career scoring list at 1,392 and is just four points away from passing Todd Schabel (1985-89) for seventh place. Nobles contributed 19 points and went over 1,200 for his career on Thursday.
Junior
Christian Siakam turned in eight points and 12 rebounds before fouling out and Esposito scored eight off the bench, all in the first half.
Stephen Thomas finished with seven points, seven rebounds and five assists in the loss.
The loss snapped IUPUI’s three-game winning streak, all of which had come by five points or less.
“We’ve got to regroup, figure some things out and get back to work,” Hunter said. “We had some guys play some really long minutes tonight, so I’m looking for some other guys to step up at Southern (Utah) on Saturday. We’re really going to find out what we’re made of.”
Four IUPUI starters played at least 40 minutes, topped by the 48 registered by Thomas and Nobles. Young played 45 while Couisnard led all players with 49 minutes work. Both Hunter and UMKC Head Coach Matt Brown coached in their bare feet on Thursday as part of the continued partnership with Charlotte-based Samaritan's Feet.
Hunter was the first coach in all of college basketball to do so in 2008 and has since been joined by thousands of colleagues at all coaching levels. It was reported that more than 150,000 pairs of shoes were donated last weekend as part of the most recent initiative.
IUPUI will cap the two-game road trip on Saturday at Southern Utah at 9;30 p.m. Eastern. Pregame coverage will begin on 88.3 FM / The Walk as Scott McCauley (play-by-play) hits the airwaves at approximately 9:25.
