UMKC Kangaroos drop another road game

The UMKC men’s basketball team was unable to keep up with Texas Rio Grande Valley in the decisive second half on Saturday.

The result for UMKC was a 75-63 loss to the Vaqueros in Edinburg, Texas.

The ‘Roos and Vaqueros were playing for sole possession of fifth place in the WAC. With the loss, UMKC sits one game behind Texas Rio Grande Valley: UMKC, which has lost four of five games, dropped to 8-15 overall and 3-5 in the WAC; Texas Rio Grande Valley, meanwhile, improved to 12-12 and 4-4 in the WAC. Both teams are now halfway through the WAC schedule.

UMKC had won its last two meetings over the previous two seasons at Edinburg.

It looked promising for the Kangaroos in the early going on Saturday: UMKC built a 33-30 lead by halftime. And UMKC upped that to 38-33 early in the second half, but it was all Vaqueros from there. Texas Rio Grande Valley outscored UMKC 45-30 in the second half and at one point led the Kangaroos 73-55.

The Vaqueros’ surge was fueled in part by some hot shooting from distance, going 8 for 11 on three-pointers in the second half.

Brandon McKissic led the way for UMKC with 13 points of 5-of-9 shooting (2 of 5 on three-pointers) from the field for the game.

Jordan Jackson scored a game-high 22 points for Texas Rio Grande Valley, which will play at UMKC on March 2.

Up next though for UMKC is a game next Saturday in Riverside, Calif., against California Baptist. UMKC has yet to win on the road in WAC games this season.