UMKC tops Utah Valley, has two-game win streak

A two-game stretch at home has been the cure to UMKC’s recent woes.

Just a couple of days ago the Kangaroos were saddled with a five-game losing streak. Now they are riding a two-game winning streak, just their second of the the season.

UMKC beat second-place Utah Valley 77-70 on Saturday night at Municipal Auditorium. The victory came two days after the Roos ended their skid with a win over Seattle.

It was their hot shooting that won the day against Utah Valley: The Kangaroos shot 51.9 percent (27-52) from the field, including 13-28 (46.4 percent) on three-pointers.

Sophomore Jordan Giles had a game-high 23 points for UMKC. He had 18 in Thursday’s win over Seattle.

UMKC had a 40-31 lead at halftime against Utah Valley, built off a 10-0 run over the last 3 minutes, 16 seconds of the half.

The Roos had several double-digit leads in the second half. But they had to respond to several mini-runs by Utah Valley, which got to within five points at 66-61 with just under 6 minutes remaining in the game.

The Kangaroos, improved to 8-19 on the season and 3-7 in the WAC. Utah Valley, which is tied for second in the WAC, dropped to 17-8, 6-3.

UMKC will get their next chance to grow the winning streak with another home game. The Kangaroos are set to play Chicago State on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium. Chicago State has lost 21 straight games.

This story was originally published February 10, 2018 at 9:23 PM with the headline "UMKC tops Utah Valley, has two-game win streak."