Kangaroos Return To Action On Saturday At IPFW
12/7/2007 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. (CST) against new league member IPFW at Memorial Coliseum. The Mastodons enter the game fresh off a 74-66 victory over Southern Utah on Thursday night, while the Kangaroos dropped a 114-105 overtime decision at Oakland.
On The Tube
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on MyTV Fort Wayne. Dean Pantazi will call the play-by-play action.
On The Air
All UMKC men's basketball games can be heard on Sports Radio 810 WHB AM or 97.3 FM. Fans can also hear the games online at www.810whb.com. “The Voice of the Kangaroos” Danny Clinkscale will call the play-by-play action for UMKC for the seventh straight season.
On The Web
Fans can watch all UMKC home games and all league contests live on SummitTV. Fans can access SummitTV through www.umkckangaroos.com or www.thesummitleague.org. More than 275 men's and women's games will be featured as part of the $49.95 annual subscription package.
A Look At IPFW
The Mastodons enter the contest with a 3-4 overall record and a 1-0 mark in Summit League play. IPFW claimed its first ever league victory on Thursday night when it topped Southern Utah, 74-66, in Fort Wayne. Four IPFW players scored in double digits in the game with Jaruan Burrows pacing the team with 18 points. Guard Demetrius Johnson posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.
All five Mastodon starters are averaging in double figures on the year. Freshman guard Ben Botts is pacing the team with 13.1 points on .552 percent shooting. Burrows averages 12.0 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds, while DeWitt Scott chips in 11.3 per night. Guard Jakari Johnson averages 10.7 points, while Demetrius Johnson adds 10 points and 5.7 assists, which are the most in the Summit League this season.
IPFW Game Facts
- Head Coach Dane Fife, who is currently the youngest Division I head coach in the nation at 28, has led IPFW to double-digit win totals in each of his first two seasons with the Mastodons. The third year head coach ranks sixth all-time on the school's win chart.
- Last season, the Mastodons finished with a 12-17 overall record. The 12 wins are a school record for the program since turning Division I.
- Fife began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Indiana University, under Mike Davis. As a player, Fife led the Hoosiers to the 2001-02 Big Ten Co-Championship and Final Four.
- The Mastodons rank third in the league in scoring defense (68.0), third in field goal percentage (.477) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.452). The squad is also second in blocks (4.29 p/game) and three-point field goals (9.14 p/game) and third in assists (15.86 p/game).
IPFW vs. UMKC - The Series
UMKC is 1-0 all-time against IPFW. The Kangaroos won 81-66 in Kansas City in the only meeting in the series on Feb. 26, 2002.
Last Contest
The Kangaroos erased a 23-point second half deficit to force overtime, but Oakland outscored the Kangaroos by nine in the extra period to go on to the 114-105 victory on Thursday night at the O'Rena in both team's Summit League opener. Junior Dane Brumagin was lights out on the night for the Kangaroos, as he scored a career-high 40 points, 29 of which came in the second half.
Notes From The OU Game
- UMKC scored 61 second half points against the Grizzlies, which was a season-most for the team in a half.
- The Kangaroos had 19 assists to just 14 turnovers in the contest. It was the team's second loss this season when finishing with 15 or more assists.
- UMKC posted a season-high 11 steals against OU.
Summit League “Game of the Week” - UMKC at IPFW
Saturday's match-up between UMKC and IPFW is first ever Summit Game of the Week. Both teams enter the contest as the two most prolific three-point shooting teams in the league. UMKC leads the league with 9.78 makes per game, while the Mastodons connect on 9.14 three pointers per contest.
Homecoming For Humphrey
Freshman James Humphrey will make his first appearance against his hometown school on Saturday against IPFW. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native prepped at Paul Harding High School. Humprhey will be playing his third career game at Memorial Coliseum, as he played two high school contests there during a holiday tournament.
Still Looking For A Road Win
Scoring wasn't an issue for the Kangaroos on Thursday night at Oakland, but UMKC still couldn't collect a road victory. The team is now 0-5 in true road games this season, and it has lost 19-of-its-last-20 games dating back to last season. With the 105 points at OU, the Kangaroos bumped their scoring average up 8.6 points to 70.4 in road games. The squad is shooting .409 from the floor and .359 from long range in away games this season.
Over The Century Mark
UMKC scored over 100 points for the 18th time in the program's history on Thursday night at Oakland. The 105 points are the 10th most all-time, and it was the first time the school has been over the century mark since Dec. 4, 2003, against Texas-Pan American.
On the flip side, the 114 points scored by Oakland were the second most points scored against the Kangaroos all-time. The most points that the team has ever surrendered was 119 against U.S. International in 1991.
Brumagin Is Lights Out
Junior Dane Brumagin was in “the zone” on Thursday at Oakland. The guard scored a career-high 40 points on 12-of-17 shooting, which included a 7-of-9 mark from three-point land. The 12 field goals and seven three-pointers were also career-bests. The scoring output is the highest in the Summit League this season.
The guard finished with a respectable 11 points in the first half against the Grizzlies, but he really got going in the second half. The Montgomery City, Mo., native scored 29 on 9-of-11 shooting. Six of the nine makes were three pointers.
The guard, who is tied for sixth in the league with an 18.6 scoring average, has scored in double digits in 7-of-9 games on the year. He has four games with 20 or more points this season and eight such games in his career.
Brumagin In The Single Game Recordbooks
With his 40-point scoring outburst at Oakland, junior Dane Brumagin moved into an elite company in UMKC history alongside Tony Dumas, Ronnie Schmitz and Michael Watson. The point total is tied for the fifth highest single game output in school history, and it was the most points for a Kangaroo player since the 2004 season when Watson scored 40 against the Grizzlies in Kansas City.
In the second half alone, Brumagin connected on 6-of-7 three-point attempts. The six makes tie a school record for most three pointers in a single half. Schmitz and Erin Washington also share the record.
A Night Of Firsts
The Kangaroos used its fourth different starting line-up this season at Oakland. Coach Brown shook things up as freshmen Nathan Balch, James Humphrey and Spencer Johnson along with junior Jakub Jurczak all made their first career starts in Blue and Gold.
Bench Explodes
Ninety percent of UMKC's scoring against Oakland came from its bench players on Thursday night. Ninety-four of the team's 105 points were scored by the reserves.
Nearly Shooting Down School Records
The Kangaroos connected on a season-high 16 three pointers at Oakland, which included 10 alone in the second half. Both totals are the second most in school history.
Hamilton Matches Career-High
Freshman Reggie Hamilton matched his career-high, as he scored 19 points for the second straight game on Thursday at Oakland. The Illinois native made 7-of-12 shots in the game, but none was bigger than his three pointer with eight seconds remaining that evened the game at 95 and eventually sent the game into overtime.
On the year, Hamilton has scored in double figures in 8-of-9 games, and he's averaging 13.4 points per contest. He is also leading the team in assists (33) and steals (11) on the year. His 3.67 assist per game are tied for ninth in the league, and his 1.22 steals per contest are tied for 13th.
Hail To The Three
The Kangaroos are averaging 25.1 three point attempts per game this season. The team is connecting on 9.7 of those chances, while shooting .389 from the behind the three-point arch. The team's 88 three point makes are the most in The Summit League, and the 226 three point attempts are also tops in the conference. Heading into this week, UMKC ranked 32nd in the nation with 9.1 makes per game.
UMKC finished with a season-high 16 long balls at Oakland on Thursday. It was the fourth time this season that the squad has connected on 10 or more long balls in a single game.
Steady Stephens
Senior Brent Stephens finished with 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting at Oakland on Thursday. The forward has now scored in double figures in 8-of-9 games on the season and in 31 games in his career.
The Jay, Okla., native is second on the team with a 14.7 scoring average, Against Washburn on Nov. 13, Stephens scored a career-high 28 points, which included an 11-of-11 night from the free throw line.
Getty Finds His Stroke
Redshirt junior Brian Gettinger erupted for a season-high 17 points on Thursday at Oakland. The forward connected on 6-of-13 shot attempts and 5-of-10 three point attempts in the game. The six field goals and five long balls both matched career-highs. The point total is the second most that Gettinger has scored in a single game in his career. Coincidentally, he posted his career-high last season against Oakland, as he finished with 18 points.
