Kangaroos To Face Florida Gulf Coast In O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Finale
11/25/2008 11:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will close out play in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic with a Wednesday night match-up against Fort Myers Subregional host Florida Gulf Coast. The Kangaroos and Eagles will meet at the Alico Arena beginning at 6 p.m. (CST).
On The Air
Tuesday's game will be aired on 810 AM WHB 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
UMKC dropped a 85-74 decision to Richmond on Tuesday at the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. The Kangaroos and Spiders were tied at 60 with 8:32 remaining, but a 17-7 UR run broke the game open, as Richmond went on the claim the nine-point victory.
Game Notes
- The Spiders shot a blistering .686 (35-51) from the floor against the Kangaroos, which included 20-of-27 makes in the second half. The percentage is a high for a UMKC opponent this season.
- UMKC and Richmond combined for 41 assists in the contest. The Kangaroos 17 helpers were a season-high for the squad.
- The Kangaroos won the battle on the boards (25-21) for the first time this season against the Spiders.
Scouting Florida Gulf Coast
The Eagles enter Wednesday's game with a 1-3 overall record on the year after dropping a 58-54 decision to Bradley on Tuesday. Four FGCU players finished the game in double digits with reserve Reggie Chambers leading the way with 13 points. Florida Gulf Coast opened the season with a blow-out loss at Kansas (85-45) before picking up its lone win of the year over North Carolina Central, 66-58. The squad also fell to Richmond, 69-58, on Monday.
Forward Kyle Marks, a transfer from Nebraska, is leading the Eagles in both scoring (10.0) and rebounding (5.5) on the year. He is shooting .471 (16-34) from the floor. Three other FGCU players, meanwhile, average at least 8.3 points per game.
FGCU is shooting .365 (74-203) from the floor and .283 (15-53) from long range on the year. The squad is also averaging 19.0 turnovers per game.
FGCU Game Notes
- The Eagles completed their first season as a Division I institution in 2007-08. The squad finished with a 10-21 overall record, which included a 6-10 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
- FGCU is a very “young” University. The school opened its doors on August 25, 1997, and it currently has an enrollment of 10,366 students.
- FGCU was picked to finish ninth in the A-Sun Preseason Coaches and Media Polls.
20x2
The Kangaroos had a pair of players hit the 20-point mark in the loss to Richmond. Dane Brumagin finished with 26 points and Reggie Hamilton had 23 points in the contest. The last time UMKC had two players finish with 20 points was on Feb. 16, 2008 against South Dakota State. Former ?Roo Tim Blackwell scored 23 points, while Brumagin added 22 in the five-point win.
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 Nov. 24, 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 hit the mark on a fast break dunk at the 1:46 mark of the first half.
The Montgomery City, Mo., native now has 1,033 career points in UMKC Blue and Gold, which is 38 points behind his former teammate Tim Blackwell (1,071) for eighth place on the all-time list.
Hamilton Goes Over 20 For Third Straight Contest
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton hit the 20-point mark for the third straight game and for the fourth time this season on Tuesday against Richmond. The guard tied a career-high as he finished with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, which included a 5-of-8 night from long range. The five three-pointers are a career-best for the Illinois native.
Hamilton opened the trip to Florida with a 22-point scoring output against Florida Atlantic before finishing with 20 points in the win over Bradley. In the three games in the Sunshine State, the guard is averaging 21.7 points to go along with 5.7 assists. He is shooting .510 (25-49) from the floor and .500 (9-18) from long range.
Hamilton, who is averaging a team-best 18.5 points per game, has scored in double figures in every game for the Kangaroos this season and in 27-of-37 career games. He has seven games with 20 or more points in his UMKC career.
Brumagin Scores UMKC Season-High
Senior Dane Brumagin, who was tabbed as a Preseason First Team all-Summit League selection, scored a UMKC season-high 26 points in the loss to Richmond on Tuesday. The forward connected on 8-of-16 field goals and 8-of-8 free throws in the game.
Brumagin, who is second on the team with a 14.3 scoring average, has reached double figures in 5-of-6 games this season. The only game where the forward missed double digits was at Florida Atlantic, when he sat out the second half of the contest due to injury.
Brumagin has scored in double digits in 43 games in his Kangaroo career, which includes 17 games with 20 or more points.
Mushatt Moves Into Starting Line-up
Freshman Latreze Mushatt made his first career start against Bradley on Nov. 24, and he made it count as he finished with a career-best 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Mushatt has scored in double digits in three games for the Kangaroos this season. He is third on the team with a 10.2 scoring average, and he's also leading the team with 4.8 rebounds per game.
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 on Nov. 24. 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.
Money From The Charity Stripe
The Kangaroos have made over 90 percent of their free throw attempts in each of their past two games. The squad made 13-of-14 attempts (.929) against Bradley and 19-of-21 attempts (.905) on Tuesday against Richmond. On the year, UMKC is shooting at a 74.8 clip from the foul line.
Switch-A-Roo
Head Coach Matt Brown has used four different starting line-ups over the first six games this season. Last season, UMKC 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 71 percent of the team's scoring. The four players have scored 272 of the team's 384 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.
Raining Threes
UMKC has made at least one three-point basket in 251 consecutive regular season or tournament games dating back to January 22, 2000.
Brumagin In The Career Record Books
Free Throw Percentage - 1st - .863 (176-204)
40-point scoring games - t3rd - 1
30-point scoring games - t4th - 3
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage - 5th - .396 (179-452)
Three-Point Field Goals Made - 5th - 179
Field Goals Attempted - 6th - 829
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts - 7th - 452
20-point scoring games - 7th - 17
Points - 9th - 1033
Field Goals Made - 10th - 339
Double Figure Scoring Games - 10th - 43
