UMKC edges Utah Valley for spot in WAC tournament semifinals

By GILBERT MANZANO LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

8 years ago

CSU Bakersfield guard Dedrick Basile, left, fouls Chicago State guard Anthony Evans in the first half of their WAC Conference quarterfinal basketball game at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Thursday, March 10, 2016. Josh Holmberg/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Utah Valley had multiple chances to steal a win and a spot in the Western Athletic Conference basketball tournament semifinals.

But because of Utah Valley’s missed opportunities, Missouri-Kansas City took an 80-78 quarterfinal victory Thursday at Orleans Arena.

The No. 4 seed Wolverines clanked two 3-pointers in the final nine seconds. The No. 5 Kangaroos scored one point in the final 2:11.

Martez Harrison scored a game-high 24 points and recorded eight rebounds for the Kangaroos. Jaden Jackson led Utah Valley with 19 points.

UMKC will face top seed New Mexico State at 6 p.m. today.

■ Cal State Bakersfield 79, Chicago State 57 — No. 2 Cal State Bakersfield cruised into the semifinals after routing No. 7 Chicago State. Jaylin Airington and Aly Ahmed led the way with 16 points apiece for the Roadrunners. Chicago State won the rebound battle 45-35, but shot 31 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers.

■ Seattle 75, Rio Grande Valley 52 — No. 3 Seattle shook off a slow start to defeat No. 6 Rio Grande Valley. Brendan Westendorf scored 23 and Jadon Cohee 19 for Seattle.