The UMKC men’s basketball team seemed to have an impressive road victory in the bag, when their defense fell apart in the second half. That collapse led to a75-71 loss to Penn St. on Wednesday.
The ‘Roos (3-2) could do no wrong, as they jumped out to a 15-0 lead start the contest. Penn St. started the game 0-for1-4 from the field. UMKC held on to a 24-19 lead at the half, but pumped their lead back up in the second half, leading 48-34 with 14:31 to go.
That’s when things went wrong for UMKC, terribly wrong. The Nittany Lions went on a 17-0 run to take the lead. They led almost the rest of the game. UMKC tied it at 69-69, when Tim Blackwell hit two free throws, but Penn St. got a three-pointer from Travis Parker to go back on top for good.
Blackwell, who hails from Cameron, Missouri, scored 21 points in the loss. Dee Ayuba and freshman Brian Gettinger had 16 apiece for the ‘Roos, while Kansas City native Quinton Day had 14.