Kangaroos Resume O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic On Monday Against Bradley
11/23/2008 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will return to action on Monday afternoon in a neutral site game against Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley. The contest, which is a part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, will be played at Florida Gulf Coast's Alico Arena beginning at 4 p.m. (CST).
On The Air
Monday's game will be aired on 1480 AM with the “Voice of the Kangaroos” Steven Davis calling the play-by-play with Nick McCabe serving as the color commentator. Davis is the son of long-time Kansas and Royals play-by-play announcer Bob Davis, while McCabe is the Director of Operations at 810 AM WHB.
On The Internet
Kangaroo fans can catch the game live at www.umkckangaroos.com. Click on the Roo Vision link.
Live Stats
Fans can follow the statistics live on www.fgcuathletics.com.
Last Game
The Kangaroos dropped a 77-59 decision at Florida Atlantic on Saturday night in Boca Raton, Fla. UMKC got a 22-point performance from sophomore Reggie Hamilton, but it couldn't overcome a slow start and a 13-point halftime deficit.
Game Notes
- Florida Atlantic controlled the action on the boards against the Kangaroos, holding a 51-31 advantage. Twenty of the Owls' rebounds came on the offensive glass.
- The Kangaroos took care of the basketball, as they had just nine turnovers in the contest. It was the first time this season that the team committed fewer than 10 turnovers.
Scouting Bradley
The Braves enter Monday's game following an eight-day lay-off after dropping an 81-58 decision at #19 Florida on Nov. 16. Guard Dodie Dunson led the team with 15 points against the Gators. The Braves picked up their first win of the 08-09 campaign over Illinois-Chicago by the score of 67-61 on Nov. 14.
Chris Roberts and Dunson, who are both newcomers on the roster, are leading the team in scoring through the first two contests. Dunson is averaging a team-best 18 points in 37.0 minutes per game, while Roberts is scoring 12.5 points on .444 shooting. Three BU players are pulling down six or more rebounds per contest with forward Theron Wilson leading the way with 9.0 boards per game.
As a team, Bradley has been struggling from the floor, as the squad is shooting .389 (37-95) from the floor and just .244 (21-55) from long range. BU has also committed 38 turnovers (19.0 p/game).
BU Game Notes
- Bradley is 31-7 (.816) against the current 10-team membership of The Summit League, but the Braves have never played a neutral-site game against any of the league's teams.
- Bradley returns seven lettermen from the 2007-08 squad and the Braves are working six newcomers and a redshirt freshman into their lineup this season.
- Bradley has ranked among the national leaders in three-point shooting in each of the last two years and is third with 706 total treys since the start of 2006-07.
A Rare Early Road Win
The Kangaroos bucked a two-year trend when it picked up an early season road victory at Wichita State on Nov. 19. Last season, UMKC dropped its first eight games before winning at South Dakota State on Jan. 17. In 2006-07, the Kangaroos dropped their first 15 road games before winning at Western Illinois in their second to last away game on the year.
Road Win Vs. The Valley
UMKC's three-point win at Wichita State was the school's first victory over the Shockers in Wichita. It was also the Kangaroos' first road win against a Missouri Valley Conference school.
The victory was also the largest crowd (10,282) that UMKC has won in front of since the squad topped Oral Roberts in front of 10,331 fans at the Mabee Center during the 2004-05 season.
A Busy Trip To The Sunshine State
The Kangaroos will make the 1,400-mile trek and nine-day trip to the Sunshine State, where they will play a total of five contests. UMKC will play four games over a five-day stretch beginning with Florida Atlantic on Nov. 22 before playing Bradley, Richmond and Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers, Fla., as a part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. UMKC rounds out the trip against Florida at Amway Arena, the home of the NBA's Orlando Magic.
Two ?Roos Return To Florida
Freshman Femi Akinpetide and sophomore Bakari Lewis will return to their old stomping grounds in the state of Florida this week. Akinpetide prepped at the Monteverde Academy, in Monteverde, Fla., which is located in a suburb of Orlando. Lewis, meanwhile, played prep ball at the IMG Prep Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Brumagin Closing In On 1,000 Points
Senior Dane Brumagin enters Monday's game needing just 10 points to become just the ninth player in UMKC history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The Montgomery City, Mo., native has scored 990 points in Kangaroo Blue and Gold.
Hamilton Notches Second 20-Point Game
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton matched a season-high with 22 points on Saturday night at Florida Atlantic. The guard connected on 8-of-18 shot attempts, which included a 4-of-7 night from long range. The 18 shot attempts were a career-high for the guard.
The 20-point performance was Hamilton's second such game this season and the fifth 20-point game of his career. This season, Hamilton has scored in double figures in each of the team's four games, where he is averaging a team-high 17.0 point a night. Hamilton has now reached double digits in 25-of-35 games in his UMKC career.
Hamilton From Downtown
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton has been on a tear from long range through the first four games of the season. The guard is connecting on .545 (12-22) percent of his three-point attempts, and he has made at least three treys in three of the four games.
Pressure Packed Free Throws
The Kangaroos had the right player going to the free throw line when they were clinging to a one point lead with eight seconds remaining at Wichita State. Senior Dane Brumagin, the UMKC career leader in free throw percentage at 85.6 percent, confidently drained both of his attempts in front of a raucous 10,282 fans in attendance.
Brumagin In Double Digits
Senior Dane Brumagin, who was tabbed as a Preseason First Team all-Summit League selection, has reached double figure in three-of-the-team's-first-four games this season. The forward missed double figures for the first time in eight games dating back to last season, when he finished with six points at Florida Atlantic.
On the year, Brumagin is second on the team with a 10.8 scoring average.
Balanced Scoring Attack Propels UMKC
UMKC had a season-high four players finish the game at Wichita State in double figures and a total of six players finished with eight or more points in the contest. Freshmen Latreze Mushatt and Dustin Dibble provided the team a spark off the bench as both players posted career-highs. Mushatt scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Dibble finished with eight points on a 3-of-4 night from the field.
Mushatt Providing A Spark
Freshman Latreze Mushatt has provided the Kangaroos a spark off the bench through the first four games. The forward has expanded his scoring, as he has reached double digits in each of the past two games. The Michigan native scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting at Wichita State before finishing with 13 for a second straight game at FAU.
On the year, Mushatt is fourth on the squad with a 9.5 scoring average.
Mushatt Grabs 10 Boards In Second Career Game
Freshman Latreze Mushatt grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in his second career game at No. 24/23 Kansas on Nov. 16. The 10 rebounds are a season-high for UMKC, and it is just the third time in the Matt Brown era for a player to finish in double digits on the glass. Last season it took 17 games before the team had a 10-rebound player, and the squad had just two 10-board games on the year (Dane Brumagin - 10 vs. SUU, James Humphrey - 10 at Centenary).
Mushatt is leading the team with 5.3 rebounds per game on the year.
Everybody Contributes
UMKC has 10 active student-athletse on its roster, and all 10 Kangaroo players have seen action in every game this season. Coach Brown has also been mixing-and-matching his starting line-ups, as the second year coach has used three different starting line-ups to date. Last season, Brown used a total of 17 different starting line-ups on the year.
Returners Carry The Load
Through three games, the four returning players on the UMKC roster have been carrying the scoring load. Dane Brumagin, Reggie Hamilton, Spencer Johnson and James Humphrey have accounted for 72 percent of the team's scoring. The four players have scored 170 of the team's 237 points on the season. In the season opener against North Dakota, the group scored 50 of the squad's 56 points.
Johnson Notches Career-Bests
Sophomore Spencer Johnson finished with a career-high 15 points in 23 minutes of play before fouling out in the season-opener against North Dakota. The forward also tied a career-best with six rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass.
The Champaign, Ill., native has scored in double figures in a pair of game this season. He is third on the team with a 10.0 scoring average to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game.
Master Thief
Senior Dane Brumagin has eight steals (2.00 p/game) for the Kangaroos this season. The Montgomery City, Mo., has tallied at least two steals in three of the team's four games, which included a four-steal performance in the season-opener against North Dakota.
The Youth Movement
UMKC has a total of 10 underclassmen on its 2008-09 roster, which includes five freshmen and five sophomores. The five freshmen are tied for the most on a roster in school history, while the 10 underclassmen are also tied for the most all-time. This year's squad also has the second most true freshmen on its roster in school history.
The 2005-06 squad also had five freshmen (all true freshmen), while the 1999-00 squad also had a total of 10 freshmen and sophomores. One of the members of the 05-06 class was none other than current senior Dane Brumagin.
Freshmen Starters
The Kangaroo have had more than one freshman considered as a starter in the end of the year statistics just once in school history. In 2000-01, Javin Tindall and Michael Watson both started 29-of-30 games for UMKC.
The Name-Game
Not only does freshman guard Trey McKinney-Jones have a great basketball first name, but the Wisconsin native is the first Kangaroo player in men's basketball history to have a hyphenated last name.
Who's #5?
The UMKC player wearing the No. 5 uniform isn't a newcomer to the 2008-09 roster, it's sophomore forward Spencer Johnson. The Illinois native, who is considered by his teammates to be the team's MIP (Most Improved Player), made the switch this season to follow in the footsteps of his favorite NBAer - Kevin Garnett. Garnett wore No. 21 with the Minnesota Timberwolves before switching to No. 5 when he was dealt to the Boston Celtics.
Raining Threes
UMKC has made at least one three-point basket in 249 consecutive regular season or tournament games dating back to January 22, 2000.
Brumagin In The Career Record Books
Free Throw Percentage - 1st - .856 (166-194)
40-point scoring games - t3rd - 1
30-point scoring games - t4th - 3
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage - 5th - .395 (174-441)
Three-Point Field Goals Made - 6th - 174
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts - 7th - 441
20-point scoring games - 7th - 16
Points - 9th - 990
Field Goals Attempted - 9th - 803
Field Goals Made - 10th - 325
Double Figure Scoring Games - 10th - 41
