Vandals drop WAC opener

| January 3, 2014 8:00 PM

MOSCOW - Kansas City used a 12-5 run over the final three minutes to secure an 80-74 victory over Idaho in the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball opener for both teams on Thursday before 1,021 at the Cowan Spectrum.

Idaho junior Connor Hill hit three 3-pointers in the game, giving him 169 for his career and a new program record after Orlando Lightfoot's record of 168 stood for 20 years. Hill, the former Post Falls High standout, finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists.

Senior Stephen Madison had his fourth double-double of the season for Idaho (6-9, 0-1 WAC), a 20-point, 10 rebound performance after going 6-of-11 from the field and 7-of-10 at the free throw line. Senior Glen Dean tallied 19 points, four rebounds and four assists, and freshman Sekou Wiggs fell one point shy of his career high with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Wiggs added eight rebounds.

Idaho trailed 40-32 at halftime but quickly erased the deficit and took its first lead since early in the game on a Dean layup that made it 50-48 in favor of the Vandals.

Idaho built the lead to as many as five points on two occasions, including a 66-61 advantage with 6:34 to play, but UMKC used a 9-2 run to take a 68-66 lead. A 3-point play by Dean briefly gave the Vandals a one-point advantage, but then the 'Roos used their 12-5 run to seal the victory.

Nelson Kirksey led four UMKC (4-9, 1-0) double-digit scorers with 20 points, while Martez Harrison added 18, Frank Williams scored 14 and Trinity Hall had 12.

Idaho hosts Chicago State on Saturday.

UMKC (4-9)

Kirksey 6-12 7-10 20, Harrison 5-12 7-8 18, Williams 5-16 0-0 14, Chatmon 4-5 1-3 9, Kreuer 1-1 0-1 2, Bledsoe 0-4 0-0 0, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Hall 6-11 0-0 12, Korver 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 29-65 15-22 80.

IDAHO (6-9)

Dean 6-11 6-7 19, Hill 3-12 0-0 9, M. Scott 2-3 0-2 5, Seck 0-2 0-0 0, Madison 6-11 7-10 20, Wiggs 7-11 2-4 16, Callandret 0-1 0-0 0, Mpawe 0-0 0-0 0, Egbert 1-1 1-1 3, Kammerer 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-54 16-24 74.

Halftime_UMKC 40-32. 3-Point Goals_UMKC 7-25 (Williams 4-11, Korver 1-2, Kirksey 1-3, Harrison 1-5, Bledsoe 0-4), Idaho 6-18 (Hill 3-10, Madison 1-1, M. Scott 1-2, Dean 1-5). Fouled Out_Chatmon, Hill, Seck. Rebounds_UMKC 35 (Hall 10), Idaho 37 (Madison 10). Assists_UMKC 12 (Harrison 4), Idaho 12 (Dean 4). Total Fouls_UMKC 20, Idaho 22. A_1,021.