UMKC Welcomes The Gents To Kemper Arena On Saturday Night
1/25/2008 3:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will look to snap a two-game losing streak when it faces Centenary on Saturday night at Kemper Arena. The Kangaroos and Gents will play the second game of a UMKC-CC doubleheader with the tip set for 7:05 p.m.
On The Tube
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Metro Sports. Neil Harwell will handle the play-by-play, while Doug Elstun will serve as the color commentator.
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.
Live Stats
Fans can follow the action as it happens via live stats at www.umkckangaroos.com.
A Look At Centenary
The Gents enter Saturday's game with a 9-11 overall record and a 3-5 mark in league play after dropping a 82-79 decision at Southern Utah on Thursday night. Guard Tyrone Hamilton poured in 29 points for the team in the defeat. Last weekend, CC picked up a pair of key Summit League victories, as it topped Western Illinois (95-88) and IUPUI (64-58).
Three Gent players are averaging in double digits on the season. Hamilton is pacing the squad with a 17.7 per game average, while fellow guard Nick Stallings is scoring 16.4 a night. Forward Lance Hill is averaging 11.6 points on a .560 field goal percentage. Guard Chase Adams, meanwhile, is adding 9.5 points to go along with team-highs in assists (4.9) and steals (2.6) per contest.
Centenary is averaging 71.9 points per game on .451 shooting from the field and a .385 percentage from long range. The Gents are being out rebounded, 35.5-31.1, on the season.
CC Game Facts
- The Gents have scored 90 or more points in five games on the year, including a season-high 105 in a 105-90 win over Northwestern State on Nov. 27.
- Centenary opened the season by winning six of its first nine games, which included a 70-66 victory over Texas Tech.
- The Gents are second in The Summit League with 159 steals on the season. Three Centenary players rank among the top-eight in the league in the category with Chase Adams pacing the conference with 51 swipes. Adams' 2.6 steals per game is the 10th best per game average in the NCAA.
CC vs. UMKC - The Series
Saturday's game will be the 10th meeting in the all-time series between UMKC and Centenary. The Kangaroos hold the 6-3 advantage in the series, and they have won the last four games that were contested in Kansas City. Last season each team won on its home court, as UMKC was victorious, 80-75, at Municipal on Jan. 11. The Gents returned the favor with a 69-68 victory in Shreveport in a game that ended a five-game Kangaroo winning streak in the series.
Last Contest
The Kangaroos dropped a 75-47 home contest to Oral Roberts on Thursday night at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. The Golden Eagles stormed out to a 14-3 lead in the contest, and they stretched the margin to 23 at the intermission. ORU then pushed its advantage to as many as 36 before going on the the 28-point victory.
Notes From The ORU Game
- The Kangaroos were held to season-lows in points (47) and field goal percentage (.304). The squad also tied a low mark for three point field goals made with five. Additionally, UMKC matched a season-low with 19 first half points.
- The Golden Eagles had a 21-9 advantage in points off of turnovers, and ORU out rebounded UMKC, 40-32.
UMKC In The National Rankings
The Kangaroos rank 17th in the nation with 9.1 three point field goals per game. The squad also is 40th in the country in free throw percentage (.737).
Individually, junior Dane Brumagin ranks 35th in three-point field goal percentage (.443), 37th in free throw percentage (.857) and 59th in three point field goals per game (2.8).
Brumagin's 40 Is Still Among The Nation's Elite
Junior Dane Brumagin's 40-point scoring output at Oakland on Dec. 6 is still one of just eight 40-point games in the nation this season. Brumagin's output came in just 28 minutes of court time, as he fouled out prior to the overtime period. Justin Jonas of Troy has the highest point total in the country with a 44-point performance against Paul Quinn on Nov. 14.
The Kangaroos At Kemper
UMKC is in the midst of playing four straight home games at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. The Kangaroos are 13-12 all-time at the venue, which includes an 0-1 record this season.
Interesting Tidbit
The Kangaroos are known for being a good three-point shooting team this season. In fact, in 11 games, UMKC has finished with a higher three-point field goal percentage than overall field goal percentage.
Balch Notches Career-Best
Freshman Nathan Balch recorded a career-high in points for the second straight game, when he finished with 12 points on Thursday against Oral Roberts. The guard made 3-of-4 three point attempts in the game en route to the career-best performance.
Get That Outa Here!
Junior Kenny Simms matched a career-high with four blocks on Thursday against Oral Roberts. The center also finished with four swats in his UMKC debut against Wichita State on Dec. 15.
Shooting Out Of A Three-Point Funk
The Kangaroos are in the midst of a three-point funk, as the squad has made just 18-of-59 attempts (.305) over the past three games. On Thursday against ORU, UMKC tied a season-low with just five three point field goals.
Shortened Bench
Head Coach Matt Brown was limited to a short eight-man rotation on Thursday against Oral Roberts. Reggie Hamilton (ankle), Akeem Hemingway (foot), Alex Pledger (elbow/foot), Jakub Jurczak (concussion) and Spencer Johnson (flu) were all sidelined or limited in their court time.
As a result, UMKC used its 10th different starting line-up of the season against the Golden Eagles. Junior Kenny Simms made his first career start in the contest.
Double Digit Dane
Junior Dane Brumagin was held to a season-low two points on Thursday night against Oral Roberts. The forward failed to make a field goal (0-7) for the first time since Jan. 20, 2007, when he went 0-6 from the floor at Oakland.
The Montgomery City, Mo., native has scored in double figures in 17-of-21 games on the season, and he has been the high scorer for the Kangaroos in 12 contests. For his career, Brumagin has 31 games in double figures and 13 games with 20 or more points, which is tied for eighth in the school recordbooks.
On the year, Brumagin is leading the team with a 17.8 scoring average, which is fifth in the league. In conference games only, the forward is second in The Summit League with 21.0 points per contest.
Brumagin's most prolific games of the season, and his career, came during a two-game stretch in early December when he scored 75 points in two games. The forward netted 40 points at Oakland on Dec. 6 on 12-of-17 shooting, and he followed it up with 35 points on 14-of-20 shooting at IPFW on Dec. 8. As a result, he was named the Mid-Majority Baller of the Week on Dec. 10.
More Than Just A Scorer
Junior Dane Brumagin has not only been UMKC's most consistent scorer this season, but the forward has also been one of the team's top rebounders. The Montgomery City, Mo., native has led the team in a team-best 10 contests on the season and his 5.4 rebounds per game are also tops on the team. Brumagin has finished with eight or more rebounds in five games this season, and he grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds against Southern Utah on Jan. 12.
Blackwell Continues To Score
Senior Tim Blackwell was held below 10 points for the first time in three games, as he finished with just four points on 2-of-9 shooting against Oral Roberts.
On the year, the Cameron, Mo., native has scored in double figures in nine games and in 39 games in his career. Blackwell also has seven 20-point games in his Kangaroo career.
Blackwell Climbs Career Scoring Chart
Senior Tim Blackwell moved into eighth place in UMKC history with his 18-point performance at North Dakota State on Jan. 19. The Cameron, Mo., native currently has 910 career points in Blue and Gold. Blackwell now needs just 90 points to become the ninth player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau.
