Kangaroos And Golden Eagles To Square Off In Tulsa On Thursday
1/21/2009 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will hit the road for its next two contests beginning with a Thursday night showdown against Oral Roberts. The Kangaroos and Golden Eagles will meet at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla., beginning at 7:05 p.m.
On The Tube
Thursday's game will be broadcast live on Metro Sports, and it will be available on ESPN FullCourt. Neil Harwell will call the play-by-play with Doug Elstun providing color commentary.
On The Air
Thursday's game will be aired on 810 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 Union Broadcasting.
Last Game
The Kangaroos dropped a 65-60 overtime decision to league-leading North Dakota State on Jan. 17 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. UMKC led by 10 points (33-23) at the half and by as many as 14 (39-25) early in the second half. The Bison, however, methodically erased their deficit before taking a 52-50 lead with 3:40 remaining. The Kangaroos sent the game into overtime courtesy of a Dane Brumagin fade away three-pointer with 17 seconds left, but NDSU out scored UMKC 7-2 in the bonus frame to claim the five-point victory.
Game Notes
- The Kangaroos had 10 different players score at least two points in the contest, which led to a 20-5 advantage in bench scoring.
- UMKC finished 11-of-15 from the charity stripe in the game. In contrast, NDSU's Ben Woodside went 15-of-16 himself, and the Bison made 25-of-31 attempts.
- The loss drops UMKC to 1-3 in overtime game under Matt Brown. The Kangaroos are now an even 16-16 in overtime games since joining Division I.
Scouting Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles have won five straight and six of their last seven contests to improve their record to 8-11 overall and 6-1 in Summit League play this season. ORU picked up a pair of road victories last weekend, winning at IUPUI (67-58) and at Western Illinois (64-54).
Four Golden Eagle players are averaging 9.7 points or above this season. Guard Robert Jarvis is pacing the squad with a 17.5 scoring average, while forward Marcus Lewis is averaging 12.6 points, 7.2 boards and a team-best 2.3 assists per game. Freshman Dominique Morrison and transfer Kevin Ford, meanwhile, both add 9.7 points per game. Ford also grabs a team-leading 8.4 rebounds per contest.
Oral Roberts is shooting .435 from the floor and .306 from long range en route to 70.5 points per game. The squad is also +0.8 on the boards (36.3-35.5) this season.
ORU Game Notes
- Forward Dominique Morrison is a native of Kansas City, Mo., where he played prep ball at Raytown High School. Morrison was a finalist for Mr. Show-Me Basketball and for the DiRenna Award, which is given to the top player in Kansas City.
- ORU started the season 2-10. The squad dropped contests at Creighton (87-65), at Missouri (92-83), at North Carolina (100-84), at New Mexico (66-63) and at Southern California (66-56).
- The Golden Eagles are 4-1 at home this season with their lone loss coming to Arkansas-Little Rock (69-66) on Dec. 8. Since the start of the 2002-03 season, ORU is 71-11 at the Mabee Center and 46-4 in league play. The squad has won 30 consecutive league home games - the nation's longest streak of its kind. The last league home loss was an 88-74 setback to UMKC on Jan. 29, 2005.
UMKC In Close Contests
UMKC suffered its eighth loss in games decided by seven points or less when it dropped a 65-60 overtime decision to North Dakota State on Jan. 17. The Kangaroos are now 4-8 in such games this season.
Brumagin Reaches Double Digits For Seventh Straight Game
Senior Dane Brumagin reached double digits for the seventh straight game when he finished with 10 points against North Dakota State on Jan. 17. The forward made 4-of-9 shot attempts (2-of-4 from long range) in the contest.
The Montgomery City, Mo., native has hit the 20-point mark in four of his last seven games to give him a total of seven 20-point contests this season. The senior finished with a season-high 34 points against SIU-Edwardsville on Dec. 28 in Kansas City.
Since finishing with nine points at Eastern Washington on Dec. 18, Brumagin has finished in double figures in seven straight contests. During this streak, the forward is averaging 21.0 points per game with four 20-point games. He is shooting 51.5 (50-97) from the floor and .400 (14-35) from long range.
Brumagin is leading the team and is third in the league with an 18.1 scoring average, while shooting .459 from the floor and .379 from three-point range. He has reached double digits in 18-of-20 games on the year. For his career, he has scored in double digits in 56 games and in 23 of those contests he has hit the 20-point mark.
Hitting At 50 Percent
The Kangaroos finished with a 50 percent field goal percentage (25-50) on Jan. 15 against South Dakota State. It was just the third game this season that the squad has finished at 50 percent or better. UMKC is 3-0 when hitting at least 50 percent of its shot attempts with wins over Wichita State, Bradley and SDSU.
UMKC is....
- 0-10 when allowing 70 or more points this season.
- 6-4 when allowing 69 or fewer points this season.
- 3-2 when it goes into the half with a lead.
- 5-4 when it has a higher field goal percentage than its opponent.
Dane Quickies
- Senior Dane Brumagin has made at least one long ball in 18-of-20 games this season and in 86-of-110 games in his career.
- Brumagin is the only Kangaroo player to start every game this season. The Missouri native has started 22 straight games dating back to last season.
- In Summit League games, Brumagin is second in the league with a 20.6 scoring average. The forward has hit the 20-point mark in 4-of-7 Summit League games this season.
Mushatt Notches Career-High
Freshman Latreze Mushatt scored a career and team-high 15 points on a 5-of-13 effort from the floor against North Dakota State on Jan. 17. It was the first time that Mushatt has paced the team in scoring in his UMKC career.
It was the first time in 11 games that Mushatt has reached double digits in scoring. From Nov. 19 to Nov. 30, the Michigan native scored in double figures in five-of-six contests. On the year, Mushatt is averaging 8.0 points with a .361 field goal percentage.
Brumagin Sixth All-Time In UMKC History In Career Scoring
Senior Dane Brumagin moved past David Robinson into sixth place in the UMKC record books in career scoring with his 34-point performance against SIU-Edwardsville on Dec. 28. The forward, who is just the ninth player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone, currently has 1,309 career points, which is 95 points behind Quinton Day (1,404) for fifth place all-time.
Trez Grabs Career-High In Rebounds
Freshman Latreze Mushatt grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds at Western Illinois on Jan. 2. It was the Michigan native's second career game with 10 or more rebounds.
Mushatt has been one of UMKC's top rebounders this season, as he is second on the team with 6.3 boards per game, which ranks ninth in The Summit League. The forward has grabbed at least eight rebounds in a total of eight contests on the year.
Spence A Beast On The Boards
Sophomore Spencer Johnson has been a beast on the boards for the Kangaroos this season despite regularly facing taller players at the five position throughout the year. The 6-6 forward has a Summit League-leading seven games this season where he has grabbed double-digit rebounding totals. The Illinois native is leading the team with 7.5 rebounds per game, which is second in the league. He is also pacing the league with 3.0 offensive rebounds per contest. Additionally, the forward has been UMKC's top rebounder in 16-of-20 games on the year.
R-E-G-G-I-E
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton finished with 15 points on a 4-of-9 performance from the field in the win over South Dakota State on Jan. 15. The guard has scored in double figures in three-of-five games after finishing in single digits in three straight games from Dec. 18 to Dec. 28.
The Illinois native is second on the team and 17th in The Summit League with a 12.6 scoring average. He has scored in double figures in 14-of-20 games for the squad this season and in five of those contests, the guard has finished with 20 points.
Improving His All Around Game
Sophomore Spencer Johnson returned to double digits for the first time in four games when he finished with 16 points on a 7-of-9 effort from the floor against South Dakota State on Jan. 15. Johnson's .778 field goal percentage in the game is the highest for a UMKC player this season with a minimum of seven attempts.
The Champaign Ill., native has been UMKC's most consistent post player this season, as he's scored in double digits in a total of nine contests. Among the nine games is three contests with at least 20 points.
Johnson is third on the team with an 11.3 scoring average this season, while shooting .452 (84-186) from the floor. The offensive production is staggering, as the forward scored a total of 54 points as a true freshman, where he averaged 1.8 points per contest.
UMKC's 2008-09 Double-Doubles
Dane Brumagin
29 points/10 rebounds - vs. Oakland (12/4)
Spencer Johnson
20 points/13 rebounds - vs. Oakland (12/4)
12 points/10 rebounds - vs. IPFW (12/6)
14 points/14 rebounds - at Loyola (Ill.) - 12/13
22 points/12 rebounds - at Northwestern - 12/15
23 points/11 rebounds - at Eastern Washington - 12/18
Lewis Has Been Solid For UMKC Since Becoming Eligible
Sophomore Bakari Lewis has provided UMKC with another solid option in the backcourt since becoming eligible on Dec. 15. The guard has scored in double figures in a pair of contests for the ?Roos, which included an 18-point performance at IUPUI on Dec. 31. In the game, Lewis made 7-of-11 shot attempts, which included a perfect 4-of-4 day from long range.
The Ohio native has started five games for the team, where he has averaged 7.9 points with a .406 field goal percentage and a .412 mark from long range. He has also done a good job distributing the basketball, as evident by his 26 assists to 15 turnovers.
Master Thief
Senior Dane Brumagin has swiped at least two steals in 14 games for the Kangaroos this season. Brumagin has a total of 37 steals or 1.9 per game, which ranks second in The Summit League this season.
As a team, UMKC has finished with 10 steals in each of the past two contests to give the squad a total of five 10-steal games this season.
Closing Out On The 3's
UMKC has been contesting the three-point shots well throughout the season. The Kangaroos are leading The Summit League in allowing its opposition to shoot 30.6 percent (101-330) from three-point range. UMKC has held its opponents under 30 percent from three-point land in a total of 11 games on the year.
Spence's December To Remember
Sophomore Spencer Johnson had an outstanding month of December for the Kangaroos, as he averaged a double-double with 14.9 points and 10.4 rebounds. The Illinois native posted five straight double-doubles to lead the nation from Dec. 4 to Dec. 18. He posted career-highs in points three times during the month and in rebounds on a pair of occasions.
Summit League Player of the Week Honorees
The Kangaroos have had a pair of student-athletes earn Summit League Player of the Week honors this season after having just one honoree in 2007-08.
Sophomore Spencer Johnson earned the team's first POW honor on Dec. 22 after posting back-to-back double-doubles at Northwestern and Eastern Washington on Dec. 15 and Dec. 18. The forward had 22 points and 12 boards against NU before finishing with a career-best 23 points and 11 boards at EWU.
Senior Dane Brumagin became the second straight Kangaroo to earn the Player of the Week accolade on Dec. 28 after averaging 30 points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists in a pair of contests. The forward scored 26 points against UTSA before following it up with a season-high 34 points against SIU Edwardsville.
Brumagin Named A Semifinalist For The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Dane Brumagin has been named to the initial list of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award, given annually to senior student-athletes across nine NCAA Division I sports, has become one of the most prestigious honors in college athletics and is sponsored by Lowe's, an Official Corporate Partner of the NCAA. Based on criteria focusing on the “Four C's” of classroom, character, community and competition, the award winners will be selected by national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.
The 2008 candidates on the men's sides includes student-athletes from 27 different schools from around the country representing 14 conferences. Brumagin is the lone representative from The Summit League.
UMKC Surpasses 2007-08 Road Win Total
The Kangaroos surpassed their 2007-08 road win total when they defeated Eastern Washington on Dec. 18 in Cheney. The squad is 3-6 on the road this season. Last year, UMKC went 2-13 in games away from Kansas City.
The Kangaroos picked up their first road victory at Wichita State on Nov. 19. The win was the program's first win in Wichita and the first road victory against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent. The win over WSU was also the largest crowd (10,282) that UMKC has won in front of since the squad topped Oral Roberts in from of 10,331 fans at the Mabee Center during the 2004-05 season.
Etching Their Name In The Record Books
Sophomores Reggie Hamilton and James Humphrey have both etched their names in the single game record books this season. Hamilton finished with five steals against Florida on Nov. 30, which are tied for the third most in a single game in school history. Humphrey, meanwhile, swatted five shots in the win over IPFW. The five blocks are also tied for the third most in a single game in school history.
Getting Others Involved
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton registered his third game this season with seven or more assists when he tallied eight in the loss at Northwestern on Dec. 15. The guard has six games this season with five or more assists, which included a career-best nine helpers against Oakland on Dec 4. Hamilton currently ranks fourth in The Summit League with 3.7 assists per game.
Hamilton Shines In Florida
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton had a superb five-game stretch during UMKC's trip to the state of Florida from Nov. 22-30. The guard hit the 20-point mark in four of the team's five games, and he averaged 19.4 points on .493 (34-69) shooting from the floor and .483 (14-29) from long range. Hamilton also averaged 5.6 assists and 2.6 steals for the Kangaroos.
Hamilton was the first Kangaroo player since Michael Watson to score 20 or more points in four straight games. Watson had two different six-game streaks during the 2003-04 season.
Switch-A-Roo
Head Coach Matt Brown has used 11 different starting line-ups over the first 20 games this season. Last season, UMKC used a total of 17 different starting line-ups on the year.
Returners Carry The Load
Through 20 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 68.1 percent of the team's scoring. The four players have scored 890 of the team's 1306 points on the season. In the season opener against North Dakota, the group scored 50 of the squad's 56 points, and in the Dec. 13 game at Loyola (Ill.), the foursome scored 44 of the team's 47 points.
Raining Threes
UMKC has made at least one three-point basket in 265 consecutive regular season or tournament games dating back to January 22, 2000.
Brumagin In The Career Record Books
Free Throw Percentage - 1st - .851 (229-269)
Three-Point Field Goals Made - 3rd - 214
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts - 3rd - 545
40-point scoring games - t3rd - 1
30-point scoring games - 4th - 4
20-point scoring games - 5th - 23
Field Goals Attempted - 6th - 1027
Points - 6th - 1309
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - 7th - .393 (214-545)
Field Goals Made - 7th - 433
Double Figure Scoring Games - 7th - 56
Games Played - 8th - 110
Minutes - 8th - 2710
Free Throws Made - 9th - 229
Steals - 9th - 117
Rebounds - 10th - 386
