UMKC cruises past Bethel in exhibition

By BLAIR KERKHOFF

The Kansas City Star

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UMKC’s 75-39 victory over Bethel College on Friday followed the time-honored exhibition-game form.

The team shook off first-game jitters, worked out kinks and gained a dose of confidence heading into next week’s season opener.

“Good that we won, made a lot of mistakes so that’s probably the best situation,” UMKC forward Jay Couisnard said. “You win, but you know you can get better.”

Still, the feel-good part shouldn’t be underestimated. Sure, the opponent was Bethel from the NAIA ranks, but for a UMKC program coming off a miserable 7-24 season, it seemed important to get things right from the outset.

Coach Matt Brown started to see it last week in a controlled scrimmage against Drake and liked most of what transpired Friday at Swinney Recreation Center.

Ten of the 11 players got double-digit minutes, everybody filled up the stat sheet and the go-to guys put up nice totals. Spencer Johnson was most active, grabbing 14 rebounds to go with 14 points. Guard Bakari Lewis had 12 points and six assists, and Couisnard led the way with 16 points.

“He’s going to make everybody on the floor better,” Brown said.

Couisnard, a transfer from Evansville, opened the scoring by burying a three-pointer the first time he touched the ball as a UMKC player.

“The first three times,” Couisnard said.

That’s right. His first three shots went swish from the left corner, swish from the right corner and back to the left. He had nine points before the first media timeout.

The one area that displeased Brown was the Kangaroos’ 16 turnovers. UMKC wants to play a little more uptempo this season and needs better ball control. How will that message be sent?

“Sprints,” Brown said. “Tomorrow morning.”

The Kangaroos open the season Nov. 14 at home when Truman State visits Swinney.

Posted on Fri, Nov. 06, 2009 11:07 PM

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