MEN'S BASKETBALL

The UMKC men's basketball team opened the 2006-2007 Mid-Continent Conference season with a hard-fought victory, 66-62, over the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds on Saturday night at Municipal Auditorium.

Sophomore Alex Pledger led the way with 14 points and seven rebounds, not to mention three blocked shots. Pledger showed a bit of his dark side on the court by kicking and clawing, setting numerous picks for teammates, and even setting the table for the team's scoring drives at the beginning of both stanzas. When the war had ended, the Kangaroos stood victorious and Pledger sported a three-inch scratch on his left arm picked up in the battles.

"I found it tough when I first came here to adjust to the aggression in the American game," said Pledger. "Also, in New Zealand I was much bigger than the others, making it much easier to dominate without an aggressive style. Hopefully I'll continue to improve."

Senior forward Dee Ayuba said he is constantly after Pledger to take control of the paint.

"He's really being aggressive right now," said Ayuba. "I tell him you're either going to fowl or make something good happen."

The latter seemed to be the case. Pledger opened the game by scoring six of the Kangaroos' first eight points while pulling down a pair of defensive rebounds.

From then until the end of the half, the teams exchanged the lead a dozen times. But the tide of fate began to turn UMKC's way as the half ended.

As the opening stanza was coming to a close, the Thunderbirds, leading 36-35 with 30 ticks left on the clock, set up their offense to take the last shot. The option chosen by the SUU squad turned out to be a perfectly executed play in which the basketball was placed in the hands of Thunderbird guard David Marek with just four seconds left in the period.

It was heaved from the corner closest to the T-birds locker room. Every thing seemed to be nicely packaged for the Roos opponents to take a four-point margin down the tunnel at the buzzer.

Then suddenly a bird, then again maybe it was a plane, no, in fact it was Pledger flying through the air like a seven-foot-tall gazelle to reject the shot and end the half with a sudden and unexpected momentum shift going the way of the Kangaroos.

Southern Utah did not score again until six minutes were gone in the final period as the Roos would jump out to a 43-36 lead. Mirroring the start of the game, Pledger once again scored six of those first eight points.

UMKC, displaying its newfound resolve would never again relinquish the lead in the contest.

There would however be one last moment of truth for the Kangaroos. T-birds guard Justin Allen scored a lay-up with 19 seconds to play in regulation, shaving the Kangaroos' previously held 11-point lead all the way down to one at 63-62.

After a 30-second timeout was called by Southern Utah to formulate its strategy, it became clear UMKC would win or lose this game from the charity stripe. Freshman guard Dominique Johnson got the ball into the hands of junior forward Brent Stephens, the best free-throw shooter on the Kangaroo squad. He hit one of two, leaving the door open for the T-birds to attempt to tie or win the game.

Southern Utah forward Junior Abraho zipped the ball down the court into the hands of waiting guard Steve Barnes, who missed a lay-up. Senior guard Quinton Day, who scored 14 points of his own in the contest, pulled down the rock and passed it to sophomore guard Dane Brumagin. He was immediately fouled by Southern Utah, which sent him back to the free-throw line.

Brumagin hit both shots, sealing the victory for UMKC, 66-62, and putting the team at the top of the Mid-Continent standings to start league play.

"This is big for us," said UMKC Head Basketball Coach Rich Zvosec. "It helps our psyche and it helps our confidence."

dstroud@unews.com