UMKC Returns To The Hardwood Against Richmond On Tuesday
11/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will play for the second straight day when it squares off against Richmond on Tuesday in the second game of the Fort Myers Regional in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. The Kangaroos and Spiders will meet at the Alico Arena on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University beginning at 4 p.m. (CST).
On The Air
Tuesday'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.
Last Game
The Kangaroos picked up their second victory of the season with a 73-61 win over Bradley on Monday afternoon. UMKC used an 11-0 run to close out the first half to build a 36-24 lead at the break. The squad then stretched its lead to as many as 18 points over the Braves before going on to claim the game, 73-61.
Game Notes
- The Kangaroos shot a season-high .560 (28-50) percent from the floor. It was the second game of the season (Wichita State) that the squad has shot 50 percent or better from the field.
- UMKC shot a season-low 14 three pointers, while also making a season-low four long balls.
- The squad also made 13-of-14 free throws for a season-best .929 percentage.
- The 12-point halftime lead was the largest advantage for the team at the break this season, while the 36 first half points were also the most in the first half for UMKC on the year.
- UMKC made 14-of-16 two-point field goals in the second half against Bradley. Overall, the team shot .640 from the floor in the second half, making 16-of-25 field goal attempts.
Scouting Richmond
The Spiders enter Tuesday's game with a 2-1 overall record after topping Florida Gulf Coast, 69-58, on Monday at Alico Arena in Fort Myers. David Gonzalvez scored a game-high 25 points in the win. UR opened the year with an 87-51 win over Randolph-Macon before dropping a 76-71 decision at Syracuse in its first game of the CBE Classic.
The starting backcourt duo of David Gonzalvez and Kevin Anderson are leading Richmond in scoring on the year. Gonzalvez is pacing the team with 18 points per game, while shooting a stellar .613 (19-31) from the floor and .583 (7-12) from three-point range. Anderson, meanwhile, is averaging 15.3 points. On the boards, Jarhon Giddings is pulling down a team-best 4.7 per game.
As a team, the Spiders are shooting 46.4 (77-166) from the floor and .333 (21-63) from three-point land on the year. The squad is also averaging 35.3 boards per contest.
UR Game Notes
- Former UMKC Director of Marketing & Promotions Jana Ross is now an Assistant AD at Richmond.
- Richmond head coach Chris Mooney has defeated a team from a BCS Conference in each of his three seasons at the school. He defeated Virginia last season, South Florida in 2006-07 and Seton Hall in 2007-08.
- The Spiders' leading scorer in both 2006-07 (11.9) and 2007-08 (14.3), Dan Geriot, is out for the season after tearing his ACL.
Spider Ties
Head Coach Matt Brown and assistant coach Martin Unger will square off against one of their former schools on Tuesday when the Kangaroos face Richmond. Brown served as an assistant for the Spiders from 1997-2002, while Unger was the administrative assistant at UR from 1997-2001. The duo helped lead the Spiders to the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Unger also was born and raised in Richmond, Va.
Kangaroos Very Efficient Against Bradley
UMKC was a very efficient 28-of-50 from the floor against Bradley. The .560 field goal percentage for the program during the Matt Brown era. The previous high of .521 (25-48) came in Brown's first career coaching victory over Washburn last season.
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.
A UMKC First - A 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.
Two Straight Over The MVC
The Kangaroos picked up their second straight win over a Missouri Valley Conference opponent on Monday, when it topped Bradley in Fort Myers, Fla. It was just the third time in school history that the Kangaroos have defeated more than one MVC school in the same season. UMKC topped Creighton and Wichita State during the 1993-94 season to accomplish the feat for the first time, and in 2001-02, the squad beat Missouri State and Northern Iowa in back-to-back games.
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 Joins The 1,000-Point Club
Senior Dane Brumagin became just the ninth player in UMKC history to join the 1,000-point club on Nov. 24 against Bradley. The forward, who now has 1,007 career points, hit the mark on a fast break dunk at the 1:46 mark of the first half. He finished the game with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Hamilton Continues To Score
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton hit the 20-point mark for the second straight game and for the third time this season on Monday against Bradley. The guard tied a career-high with nine field goals, as he finished with 20 points in the contest. The performance came on the heels of a 22-point night at Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
Hamilton has scored in double digits in all five games this season, where he is averaging a team-best 17.6 points on .477 shooting. Hamilton has now scored in double digits in 26-of-36 career games, which includes six career games with 20 or more points.
Brumagin In Double Digits
Senior Dane Brumagin, who was tabbed as a Preseason First Team all-Summit League selection, has reached double figure in four-of-the-team's-first-five games this season. The only game where the forward missed double figures was at Florida Atlantic, when he sat out the second half of the contest due to injury. On Monday, Brumagin connected on 6-of-10 shot attempts en route to a season-high 17-point performance.
On the year, Brumagin is second on the team with a 12.0 scoring average.
Mushatt Moves Into Starting Line-up
Freshman Latreze Mushatt made his first career start, and he made it count as he finished with a career-best 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The forward has now scored in double digits in each of the team's past three games, where he is averaging 13.3 points on .486 (17-35) shooting.
On the year, Mushatt is third on the team with a 10.4 scoring average, and he's also leading the team with 5.0 rebounds per game.
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. 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 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).
Trey Pulls Down Eight Boards
Freshman Trey McKinney-Jones pulled down eight rebounds - all defensive - in the 12-point win over Bradley. The figure was the second highest rebounding total for the Kangaroos this season. The guard also contributed seven points in the contest after making all three of his field goal attempts.
Everybody Contributes
UMKC has 10 active student-athletes 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 four 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 69 percent of the team's scoring. The four players have scored 213 of the team's 310 points on the season. In the season opener against North Dakota, the group scored 50 of the squad's 56 points.
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 250 consecutive regular season or tournament games dating back to January 22, 2000.
Brumagin In The Career Record Books
Free Throw Percentage - 1st - .857 (168-196)
40-point scoring games - t3rd - 1
30-point scoring games - t4th - 3
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage - 5th - .397 (177-446)
Three-Point Field Goals Made - 6th - 177
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts - 7th - 446
20-point scoring games - 7th - 16
Points - 9th - 1007
Field Goals Attempted - 9th - 813
Field Goals Made - 10th - 331
Double Figure Scoring Games - 10th - 42
