UMKC shoots its way past McNeese State

Some hot shooting helped UMKC bounce back from a tough loss.

The Kangaroos beat McNeese State 80-67 at Municipal Auditorium on Saturday.

The victory, in which UMKC shot 56.9 percent from the field, came on the heels of Thursday’s 69-66 home loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee in which UMKC was outscored 12-0 to close out the game.

UMKC controlled things down the stretch Saturday, outscoring NcNeese State 49-38 in the second half.

Rob Whitfield led the Kangaroos with 19 points for the game. Whitfield was 5 of 8 on his three-point shots. As a team, UMKC (4-8) made 11 of 24 threes (45.8 percent), including 8 of 12 in the second half.

Xavier Bishop, who entered as the ‘Roos leading scorer at 16.9 points per game, finished with 16 against McNeese State (3-7).

It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs. UMKC next plays at Central Michigan on Wednesday night.