KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thursday night, the University of Missouri-Kansas City men's basketball team won their first conference game in a triple overtime thriller.
The Roos took down Seattle 90-86 in the final minute of the third overtime, but the WAC conference opener win was no easy task.
UMKC went into the half down 33-23, but came out on fire in the second. Halfway into the 2nd it looked as if Kansas City might take the lead, but the Roos were unable to put Seattle away.
Both teams were unable to score in the final three minutes of regulation, so the game went into overtime knotted up 56-56. It took two buzzer beaters in the first and second overtime to get to the final lead in the third overtime.
Jahshire Hardnett scored on a jumper with a little over one minute left and the Roos grabbed the final lead change. Hardnett scored 12 of 15 UMKC points in the first overtime. He finished with a career high of 28 points, 10 of which were scored in regulation.
UMKC now improves their record to 8-7 under first year head coach Billy Donlon.
After the win, Donlon said he was pleased with his players' effort in the second half.
"Give Seattle a lot of credit. They punched us in the mouth in the first half on our home court...our guys came right out in the second half and there were opportunities for both teams," the coach said. "We made some shots, we had to deal with some fouls, but really proud of our guys for finding a way to win this game. This is the kind of game you got to win at home."
UMKC returns to the court on Saturday with a home game against Utah Valley at 7 p.m.
