UMKC’s second-half rally not quite enough in loss at Creighton

OMAHA, Neb. UMKC mounted a furious rally in the second half at No. 22 Creighton.

Unfortunately for the Kangaroos, the first-half deficit was too big.

UMKC battled back from 21 points down at halftime but fell to Creighton 89-82 on Friday night.

The Bluejays led by double digits less than 4 minutes in and by 28 midway through the second half. The Kangaroos cut that lead to single digits before Creighton secured its 19th win in the past 20 season openers.

UMKC, picked sixth in the eight-team Western Athletic Conference, missed nine of its first 10 shots in the game.

UMKC’s Martez Harrison had 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Darnell Tillman had 10 points and seven rebounds, and Duane Clark added 10 points for UMKC.

The Kangaroos brought back six seniors from last season’s 12-win team. Clark is a promising freshman who made 5 of his first 6 shots, and the 6-8, 250-pound Tillman was 5 for 5.

Marcus Foster led Creighton with 19 points.

The Kangaroos play their home opener against Drake on Tuesday.

Creighton will play host to No. 9 Wisconsin on Tuesday

UMKC women lose to Tulsa

The UMKC women lost their season opener, falling to Tulsa 80-70 at Swinney Recreation Center on Friday night.

Kiana Law had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Kangaroos, and Kristen Moore added 16 points with five rebounds.

The game, which featured 12 lead changes and eight ties, was a tight one until Tulsa took control in the fourth quarter.

UMKC held a 55-51 lead heading into the final period, but the Kangaroos couldn’t stop Tulsa from there. Tulsa outscored UMKC 29-15 in the fourth quarter on 10-of-17 shooting.

Erika Wakefield finished with a game-high 21 points for Tulsa. She made 8 of 13 shots from the field.

UMKC will play at Wichita State on Tuesday.

This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 10:37 PM with the headline "UMKC’s second-half rally not quite enough in loss at Creighton."