Mountaineers Light Up The Nets, Knock Off 'Roos 81-71

Appalachian State shot 61.9 percent in the second half and out-ran Kansas City on the way to an 81-71 victory in men's basketball action on Sunday afternoon at Swinney Recreation Center. The Kangaroo loss came despite a career day from junior forward Nelson Kirksey, who scored 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting.

Kansas City (4-6) allowed 48 second-half points to the fast-paced attack of the Mountaineers (2-7), who played their first game of the season with normal starting point guard Mike Neal, who was declared eligible this week.

The two squads shot better than 60 percent in the final half, but the difference came from the three-point line and free throw stripe. The Mountaineers went 18-of-20 from the line, and 4-of-6 from the in the second stanza.

The contest started well for ASU, going out to an 18-11 lead in the first eight minutes, capped by a three from Jamaal Trice. After the 'Roos cut it to four on a Kirksey layup, App State went on a 7-2 rally to get the advantage to nine with 8:14 on the clock. The Mountaineers cooled down though, after shooting close to 80 percent in the first 12 minutes, helping the 'Roos go on a run. Over the next four minutes, UMKC out-scored the guests by an 11-2 margin, and tied the game at 28 with 4:16 on the clock on a layup by Caleb Johnson.

The squads traded scores for the rest of the half, but a layup by ASU's Jay Canty with two seconds on the clock sent the visitors into the locker room with a 33-32 lead. Estan Tyler led the 'Roos with 10 points at the break, while Kirksey had eight. Tevin Baskin was the leader for the Mountaineers with 11, while Canty had 10. ASU shot 50 percent, while the 'Roos hit 42.9 percent from the floor.

The final stanza was all about offense though. Kansas City jumped out to an early 38-34 lead, but App State took over from there, taking the lead for good by the 13:22 mark on a three by Nathan Healy, making it 47-44.

The lead got stretched to seven on a three by Trice with 10:37 to play, and as many as 14 by the 2:28 mark. The closest UMKC got during the stretch was five.

Thomas Staton and Kirksey each had 10 second half points for the 'Roos, but 10 turnovers in the stanza for UMKC was too much to overcome, as was the 62 percent shooting by ASU.

Kirksey's 18 led all scorers, while Tyler put up 15 points and Staton had 12 for Kansas City. The Mountaineers got 18 from Baskin, while Tab Hamilton had 17, Trice was at 16, and Canty scored 12. For the contest, Appalachian State shot 55.3 percent, while UMKC hit 51 percent.

Kansas City will continue its three-game home stand on Wednesday when it faces Iowa State in the first game of the season at Municipal Auditorium. The tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the contest will be televised regionally on KSMO.