Box Score Kansas City, Mo. (Jan. 14, 2006) ???C In a game that looked like it might be over at halftime, it was not over until the final shot fell just short as Oakland fell 93-91 to UMKC in Mid-Continent basketball action. The Golden Grizzlies stormed back from a 22-point halftime deficit to take a lead and then had a chance to send the game into overtime at the buzzer, but Rick Billings (Detroit, Mich.) shot fell just short as the Kangaroos held on for the win. Calvin Wooten (Detroit, Mich.) led five OU players in double figures with 19 points. Oakland (6-11, 1-4 Mid-Con) and UMKC (8-8, 5-2 Mid-Con) played each other even over the first five minutes of the game, relying on their inside games for points. Shawn Hopes (Detroit, Mich.) had four early points, while for the Kangaroos it was Kalu Guasco who had six as UMKC held an 8-6 early lead. The two teams then went scoreless for the next two minutes before they started trading baskets again. The Golden Grizzlies took their first lead of the night when Hopes picked up his third basket at the 10:25 mark for a 14-13 lead. David Carson (Gary, Ind.) hit back-to-back treys to give OU a 22-19 lead with eight minutes left. That proved to be the high-water mark for OU in the half, however, as UMKC unleashed a barrage of three-point shots that quickly erased the Golden Grizzly lead. Sparked treys from Dee Ayuba and Tim Blackwell, UMKC went on an 11-0 run to take a 30-22 advantage. The damage did not stop there as the Kangaroos hit over 60 percent of their shots in the half, from the field and from behind the arc, and went on to out score OU 31-9 over the last eight minutes to take a 53-31 lead at the half. Eight of UMKC???s nine treys in the half came during the run. Oakland opened the second half with an offensive flurry, getting the first five points to cut the UMKC lead to 17 in the first two minutes. The Golden Grizzlies kept coming, holding the Kangaroos to just a pair field goals over the first seven minutes, enabling OU to slice into the lead further. Billings hit a three-pointer with 16:12 left to pull OU to within 12 at 57-45. Oakland kept coming and when Vova Severovas (Vilnius, Lithuania) hit a shot at the 13:14 mark, the Golden Grizzlies had come all the way back to just five down at 58-53. UMKC got some breathing room back, getting a pair of three-pointers from Quinton Day that put his team back up by 10 at 66-56. Wooten then scored eight straight points to pull OU to within two at 68-66 after a three-pointer with 10 minutes to play. The Golden Grizzlies stayed close and finally came all the way back, taking a 71-70 lead on a Severovas dunk with 7:31 showing. Day, who finished with 29 points, then put UMKC back in the lead for good with back-to-back treys. UMKC had its lead all the way back up to seven points with 1:11 to play, but Oakland refused to quit, getting a three from Erik Kangas (DeWitt, Mich.) to bring the Golden Grizzlies within four. Another Kangas trey with 22 ticks left had OU within a deuce at 90-88 before Guasco hit one of two free throws with 19 seconds left to put the Kangaroo lead back to three. On the next OU possession Billings connected on a three from the corner to knot the score at 91-91 with 10 second to play. Ayuba then hit the game-winning shot for UMKC, connecting on a pull-up jumper at the 6.3 second mark. Wooten also led Oakland with five assists, while Severovas notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Billings finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Golden Grizzlies. Led by Day, UMKC placed three players over the 20-point mark, with Guasco totaling 23 and Ayuba adding 20 points and six rebounds for the Kangaroos. Oakland will finish its Mid-Con weekend road swing on Monday when it visits Western Illinois starting at 9:20 p.m. Eastern.