UMKC Continues On To Shreveport To Face Centenary
12/4/2009 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
THE SETTING
The UMKC men's basketball team will attempt to put a halt to its three-game losing streak when it continues south for a Summit League match-up at Centenary on Saturday evening. The 'Roos and Gents will play the second game of a UMKC-CC doubleheader beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Gold Dome in Shreveport, La.
ON THE AIR
Radio: 1590 AM (Steven Davis - p-b-p; Nick McCabe - color)
Television: None
Web: Roo Vision (UMKCKangaroos.com)
Live Stats: www.UMKCKangaroos.com
LAST TIME OUT
The Kangaroos dropped their Summit League opener, as they fell at Oral Roberts, 68-57, on Thursday night at the Mabee Center. UMKC jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the early going before the Golden Eagles fought back to take a 33-31 lead into the half. ORU then pushed its advantage to nine points early in the second half, but the 'Roos continued fighting pulling to within three points with 10 minutes to play. ORU then made 11-of-13 free throws to close out the game as it went on to claim its 400th all-time win at the Mabee Center.
THE COACHES
Head Coach Matt Brown is in his third season with the UMKC men's basketball program, where he has compiled an 21-48 overall record and has coached three players to all-Summit League recognition. Former forward Dane Brumagin was a second team all-league honoree and Reggie Hamilton was an all-newcomer team selection in 2007-08, while Brumagin earned an honorable mention all-league nod in 2008-09. Last season, Brown guided the 'Roos to a pair of wins over Missouri Valley Conference foes Wichita State and Bradley. It was just the third time in school history for the team to beat two MVC teams in the same season.
Greg Gary is in his second season as the head coach of the Centenary men's basketball program, where he has posted an 12-25 overall record. Gary joined the Gents following a one-year stint at Duquesne and a three-year stat at South Florida.
SCOUTING CENTENARY
Centenary brings a 4-2 overall record and a 1-0 league mark into Saturday's game after posting a 93-85 overtime victory over Southern Utah on Thursday night. Four Gent players reached double figures in the win with Roman Tubner finishing with 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
All five CC starters are averaging at least 9.0 points per game on the year. Guard David Perez is pacing the team with a 21.8 per game average, while shooting .426 from the floor, .306 from long range and .947 from the charity stripe. Tubner is second on the team with a 16.8 average, while Daman Starring (9.8), Jerrald Bonham (9.5) and Maxx Nakwaasah (9.0) also are approaching double digits. Nakwaasah is also the team's top rebounder with 5.8 per game.
CC is shooting .417 from the floor, but just .295 from three point land on the season. The Gents have also limited opponents to .250 shooting from three-point land, but they are getting out rebounded by nearly eight boards per game.
CC GAME NOTES
• Centenary assistant coach Mark Richmond was a team manager at West Virginia for four years where he worked with UMKC Head Coach Matt Brown.
• The Gents will be playing their fifth straight game at the Gold Dome on Saturday against UMKC. The squad is 3-1 at home this season.
• Guard David Perez is leading The Summit League with his 21.8 scoring average. Perez has hit the 20 point mark in 4-of-6 games on the season.
THE SERIES
Saturday's meeting will be the 14th in the all-time series between UMKC and Centenary with the 'Roos holding the 9-4 advantage. The two squads split the series last season as each team won on its home floor. Coach Brown, meanwhile, is 3-1 against the Gents in four career meetings.
QUICK HITTERS
• Alex Bazzell opened his collegiate career by playing 108 minutes before committing his first turnover. Bazzell now has a 20-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is tops in the league and the nation.
• As a team, UMKC was leading the nation in turnover margin (+9.0) in this week's NCAA statistical rankings.
• Sophomore Trey McKinney-Jones scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting at Oral Roberts. Ten of the 12 points came in the first half. It was McKinney-Jones' second game of the season and the sixth of his career in double digits.
• UMKC has been out rebounded in each of the last four games, as the opposition is +7.5 (128-98) in the four contests.
• The 'Roos are shooting .483 from the floor and .333 from long range in three games at the SRC and .417 from the field and .313 from long range on the road.
• UMKC is struggling from the free throw line this season, as it is shooting .602. The 'Roos made just 8-of-18 free throws at ORU after making just 4-of-7 attempts vs. Idaho State.
• Couisnard played all 40 minutes against the Bengals. He is the first 'Roo player to play all 40 minutes since former guard Reggie Hamilton did it in back-to-back games last season.
• The 'Roos have forced 104 turnovers in six games, while committing just 60 TOs. This includes just four turnovers in the road win at North Dakota.
• Kirk Korver is second on the team with 20 three-point attempts despite playing roughly 90 fewer minutes than Jay Couisnard (22 attempts). Korver is also one shy of the team lead with six long balls on the year.
• UMKC won on the road in its first opportunity on Nov. 21 at North Dakota, and the squad is 1-2 on the road this season. Last year, the squad went 3-13 on the road and it was 5-26 away from KC the last two seasons.
• Junior Spencer Johnson has made 29 consecutive start and has started 36 of the last 37 contests.
• Johnson failed to score in Thursday's loss at Oral Roberts. It was the first game since the regular season finale of his freshman season (3/1/08) at Oakland that the forward didn't score at least two points.
• UMKC used its fourth different starting line-up of the season at ORU. Sophomore Michael Gholston, Jr. made his first career start against the Golden Eagles.
SHARING THE ROCK
UMKC is second in The Summit League with 14.8 assists per game through six contests as it has recorded an assist on 61 percent of its field goals. The squad finished with a season-high 20 assists on 29 field goals in the season-opening win over Truman State, which matched the high for the program during the Matt Brown era.
KEEPING THE ROCK
Not only is UMKC doing an excellent job distributing the rock, but the squad is doing an even better job taking care of the rock. The 'Roos turned the ball over a season-low four times in the road win at North Dakota, which is the lowest figure during Coach Brown's tenure. On the year, UMKC is averaging an even 10.0 turnovers per contest, while forcing 17.3 TOs a game. The squad has turned the turnovers into points, as it has out scored its opposition 106-38.
LAST MAN STANDING
Junior Jay Couisnard is the only UMKC player to reach double figures in all six contests to start the year. The forward came off the bench to finish with 13 points at Oral Roberts on Thursday night. Couisnard played in a reserve role after missing practice time with a sprained ankle early in the week.
Couisnard, who has led the team in scoring in four of six games, is pacing the 'Roos with a 14.8 per game average, while shooting .407 (33-81) from the field. The 14.8 points is the 13th best average in The Summit League.
BK EXPLODES FOR 13 OFF THE BENCH
Junior Bakari Lewis netted a season-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the tight three point loss to Idaho State on Nov. 28. The performance, which was Lewis' 11th career game in double figures, helped the guard break out of his early season funk. Lewis entered the game with a total of seven points, as he had made just 2-of-12 shot attempts (.167) and 0-of-4 attempts from long range.
MUSHATT PACES TEAM IN SCORING AT ORU
Sophomore LaTreze Mushatt paced the 'Roos in scoring for the second time this season, as he finished with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting at Oral Roberts. The forward has reached double figures in four of the team's six contests and is second on the team with a 12.5 scoring average.
Mushatt is sixth in the league with a .492 (31-63) field goal percentage, but free throws have been an issue for the forward, as he is shooting just .455 (10-22) from the foul stripe.
PRODUCTIVE FRESHMAN MINUTES
Freshmen Kirk Korver and Fred Chatmon have been providing the 'Roos with productive minutes early in the 2009-10 season. The duo have combined to score a total of 59 points, which translates into 9.8 points per contest. Korver has scored eight or more points in three contests, which includes a 12-point outing in his debut against Truman State. Chatmon, meanwhile, has scored in all five games in which he's appeared, which includes an eight-point outing against TSU.
DEFENSIVE INTENSITY
The coaches have been preaching defense all season and the effort is paying off statistically, as the 'Roos have the top scoring defense in The Summit League. UMKC is giving up 59.0 points per game on the year.
In the opener, UMKC's defense limited Truman State to a total of just 33 points, which is the second fewest points allowed in a single game in school history (William Jewell - 29 pts. - 11/21/99).
IN NEED OF A TUNE-UP
After allowing its opponents to shoot just 33 percent from the floor in the two wins to open the season, UMKC's opposition has been scorching the nets in the last four contests. In the last four games, opponents have been shooting a blistering .550 (99-180) from the field and .436 (17-39) from long range. The 'Roos are 1-3 in these three contests.
QUICK HANDS
UMKC has three games this season with 10 or more steals to give it a total of 50 steals (9.0 p/game) on the year. The 8.3 steals per game are the third most in The Summit League this season. Individually, four 'Roo players have five or more swipes with LaTreze Mushatt leading the team and league with 15 (2.5 p/game), which is second in the league.
NEARLY HALF WAY TO 1,000
Junior Spencer Johnson is approaching the 500-point mark for his career in Blue and Gold. The forward currently has 441 points in 67 career games for the 'Roos. This is remarkable considering Johnson scored a grand total of 54 points during his freshman season in Kansas City.
A KORVER DEBUT
Freshman Kirk Korver opened his UMKC career in grand fashion by finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the win over Truman State on Nov. 14. In the first half alone, the center was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor en route to 10 points in his first 20 minutes of collegiate basketball.
Kirk's performance is the top single game output among the Korver brothers in their collegiate debuts. Kyle and Kaleb, both of whom played at Creighton, scored two points apiece in wins over Mississippi Valley State and DePaul, respectively, while Klayton (Drake) netted three points in a victory over Simpson in 2003.
TEAM CAPTAINS
The Kangaroos have a trio of captains for the 2009-10 season. Juniors Spencer Johnson and Jay Couisnard and sophomore LaTreze Mushatt will don the captain titles this season. Couisnard assumes the leadership role despite not having played a single minute in UMKC Blue and Gold.
YOUNG SQUAD
UMKC's roster of 15 players includes five freshmen, five sophomores and five juniors. The freshmen are Alex Bazzell, Fred Chatmon, Kirk Korver, Max Rockmann and Aaron Young. The sophomores are Dustin Dibble, Michael Gholston, Jr., Patrick Inyard, Trey McKinney-Jones and LaTreze Mushatt.
Gholston, Jr. is in his first year at UMKC after attending State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., last season.
HOME SWEET SWINNEY
The Kangaroos will play a total of 14 home games during the regular season with five games being contested on campus at Swinney Recreation Center. It will be the most home games at SRC since the pre-Division I era.
THEY'RE SOPHS, BUT LIKE UPPERCLASSMEN
In the roster they are listed as sophomores, but LaTreze Mushatt, Trey McKinney-Jones and Dustin Dibble saw more action than your typical freshmen in 2008-09. Mushatt and McKinney-Jones played in all 31 games for the 'Roos with the duo making 25 and 13 starts, respectively. Dibble, meanwhile, earned the starting nod in 12 games as a newcomer a season ago.
RAINING THREES
UMKC has made at least one three-point basket in 282 consecutive regular season or tournament games dating back to Jan. 22, 2000.
The UMKC men's basketball team will attempt to put a halt to its three-game losing streak when it continues south for a Summit League match-up at Centenary on Saturday evening. The 'Roos and Gents will play the second game of a UMKC-CC doubleheader beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Gold Dome in Shreveport, La.
ON THE AIR
Radio: 1590 AM (Steven Davis - p-b-p; Nick McCabe - color)
Television: None
Web: Roo Vision (UMKCKangaroos.com)
Live Stats: www.UMKCKangaroos.com
LAST TIME OUT
The Kangaroos dropped their Summit League opener, as they fell at Oral Roberts, 68-57, on Thursday night at the Mabee Center. UMKC jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the early going before the Golden Eagles fought back to take a 33-31 lead into the half. ORU then pushed its advantage to nine points early in the second half, but the 'Roos continued fighting pulling to within three points with 10 minutes to play. ORU then made 11-of-13 free throws to close out the game as it went on to claim its 400th all-time win at the Mabee Center.
THE COACHES
Head Coach Matt Brown is in his third season with the UMKC men's basketball program, where he has compiled an 21-48 overall record and has coached three players to all-Summit League recognition. Former forward Dane Brumagin was a second team all-league honoree and Reggie Hamilton was an all-newcomer team selection in 2007-08, while Brumagin earned an honorable mention all-league nod in 2008-09. Last season, Brown guided the 'Roos to a pair of wins over Missouri Valley Conference foes Wichita State and Bradley. It was just the third time in school history for the team to beat two MVC teams in the same season.
Greg Gary is in his second season as the head coach of the Centenary men's basketball program, where he has posted an 12-25 overall record. Gary joined the Gents following a one-year stint at Duquesne and a three-year stat at South Florida.
SCOUTING CENTENARY
Centenary brings a 4-2 overall record and a 1-0 league mark into Saturday's game after posting a 93-85 overtime victory over Southern Utah on Thursday night. Four Gent players reached double figures in the win with Roman Tubner finishing with 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
All five CC starters are averaging at least 9.0 points per game on the year. Guard David Perez is pacing the team with a 21.8 per game average, while shooting .426 from the floor, .306 from long range and .947 from the charity stripe. Tubner is second on the team with a 16.8 average, while Daman Starring (9.8), Jerrald Bonham (9.5) and Maxx Nakwaasah (9.0) also are approaching double digits. Nakwaasah is also the team's top rebounder with 5.8 per game.
CC is shooting .417 from the floor, but just .295 from three point land on the season. The Gents have also limited opponents to .250 shooting from three-point land, but they are getting out rebounded by nearly eight boards per game.
CC GAME NOTES
• Centenary assistant coach Mark Richmond was a team manager at West Virginia for four years where he worked with UMKC Head Coach Matt Brown.
• The Gents will be playing their fifth straight game at the Gold Dome on Saturday against UMKC. The squad is 3-1 at home this season.
• Guard David Perez is leading The Summit League with his 21.8 scoring average. Perez has hit the 20 point mark in 4-of-6 games on the season.
THE SERIES
Saturday's meeting will be the 14th in the all-time series between UMKC and Centenary with the 'Roos holding the 9-4 advantage. The two squads split the series last season as each team won on its home floor. Coach Brown, meanwhile, is 3-1 against the Gents in four career meetings.
QUICK HITTERS
• Alex Bazzell opened his collegiate career by playing 108 minutes before committing his first turnover. Bazzell now has a 20-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is tops in the league and the nation.
• As a team, UMKC was leading the nation in turnover margin (+9.0) in this week's NCAA statistical rankings.
• Sophomore Trey McKinney-Jones scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting at Oral Roberts. Ten of the 12 points came in the first half. It was McKinney-Jones' second game of the season and the sixth of his career in double digits.
• UMKC has been out rebounded in each of the last four games, as the opposition is +7.5 (128-98) in the four contests.
• The 'Roos are shooting .483 from the floor and .333 from long range in three games at the SRC and .417 from the field and .313 from long range on the road.
• UMKC is struggling from the free throw line this season, as it is shooting .602. The 'Roos made just 8-of-18 free throws at ORU after making just 4-of-7 attempts vs. Idaho State.
• Couisnard played all 40 minutes against the Bengals. He is the first 'Roo player to play all 40 minutes since former guard Reggie Hamilton did it in back-to-back games last season.
• The 'Roos have forced 104 turnovers in six games, while committing just 60 TOs. This includes just four turnovers in the road win at North Dakota.
• Kirk Korver is second on the team with 20 three-point attempts despite playing roughly 90 fewer minutes than Jay Couisnard (22 attempts). Korver is also one shy of the team lead with six long balls on the year.
• UMKC won on the road in its first opportunity on Nov. 21 at North Dakota, and the squad is 1-2 on the road this season. Last year, the squad went 3-13 on the road and it was 5-26 away from KC the last two seasons.
• Junior Spencer Johnson has made 29 consecutive start and has started 36 of the last 37 contests.
• Johnson failed to score in Thursday's loss at Oral Roberts. It was the first game since the regular season finale of his freshman season (3/1/08) at Oakland that the forward didn't score at least two points.
• UMKC used its fourth different starting line-up of the season at ORU. Sophomore Michael Gholston, Jr. made his first career start against the Golden Eagles.
SHARING THE ROCK
UMKC is second in The Summit League with 14.8 assists per game through six contests as it has recorded an assist on 61 percent of its field goals. The squad finished with a season-high 20 assists on 29 field goals in the season-opening win over Truman State, which matched the high for the program during the Matt Brown era.
KEEPING THE ROCK
Not only is UMKC doing an excellent job distributing the rock, but the squad is doing an even better job taking care of the rock. The 'Roos turned the ball over a season-low four times in the road win at North Dakota, which is the lowest figure during Coach Brown's tenure. On the year, UMKC is averaging an even 10.0 turnovers per contest, while forcing 17.3 TOs a game. The squad has turned the turnovers into points, as it has out scored its opposition 106-38.
LAST MAN STANDING
Junior Jay Couisnard is the only UMKC player to reach double figures in all six contests to start the year. The forward came off the bench to finish with 13 points at Oral Roberts on Thursday night. Couisnard played in a reserve role after missing practice time with a sprained ankle early in the week.
Couisnard, who has led the team in scoring in four of six games, is pacing the 'Roos with a 14.8 per game average, while shooting .407 (33-81) from the field. The 14.8 points is the 13th best average in The Summit League.
BK EXPLODES FOR 13 OFF THE BENCH
Junior Bakari Lewis netted a season-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the tight three point loss to Idaho State on Nov. 28. The performance, which was Lewis' 11th career game in double figures, helped the guard break out of his early season funk. Lewis entered the game with a total of seven points, as he had made just 2-of-12 shot attempts (.167) and 0-of-4 attempts from long range.
MUSHATT PACES TEAM IN SCORING AT ORU
Sophomore LaTreze Mushatt paced the 'Roos in scoring for the second time this season, as he finished with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting at Oral Roberts. The forward has reached double figures in four of the team's six contests and is second on the team with a 12.5 scoring average.
Mushatt is sixth in the league with a .492 (31-63) field goal percentage, but free throws have been an issue for the forward, as he is shooting just .455 (10-22) from the foul stripe.
PRODUCTIVE FRESHMAN MINUTES
Freshmen Kirk Korver and Fred Chatmon have been providing the 'Roos with productive minutes early in the 2009-10 season. The duo have combined to score a total of 59 points, which translates into 9.8 points per contest. Korver has scored eight or more points in three contests, which includes a 12-point outing in his debut against Truman State. Chatmon, meanwhile, has scored in all five games in which he's appeared, which includes an eight-point outing against TSU.
DEFENSIVE INTENSITY
The coaches have been preaching defense all season and the effort is paying off statistically, as the 'Roos have the top scoring defense in The Summit League. UMKC is giving up 59.0 points per game on the year.
In the opener, UMKC's defense limited Truman State to a total of just 33 points, which is the second fewest points allowed in a single game in school history (William Jewell - 29 pts. - 11/21/99).
IN NEED OF A TUNE-UP
After allowing its opponents to shoot just 33 percent from the floor in the two wins to open the season, UMKC's opposition has been scorching the nets in the last four contests. In the last four games, opponents have been shooting a blistering .550 (99-180) from the field and .436 (17-39) from long range. The 'Roos are 1-3 in these three contests.
QUICK HANDS
UMKC has three games this season with 10 or more steals to give it a total of 50 steals (9.0 p/game) on the year. The 8.3 steals per game are the third most in The Summit League this season. Individually, four 'Roo players have five or more swipes with LaTreze Mushatt leading the team and league with 15 (2.5 p/game), which is second in the league.
NEARLY HALF WAY TO 1,000
Junior Spencer Johnson is approaching the 500-point mark for his career in Blue and Gold. The forward currently has 441 points in 67 career games for the 'Roos. This is remarkable considering Johnson scored a grand total of 54 points during his freshman season in Kansas City.
A KORVER DEBUT
Freshman Kirk Korver opened his UMKC career in grand fashion by finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the win over Truman State on Nov. 14. In the first half alone, the center was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor en route to 10 points in his first 20 minutes of collegiate basketball.
Kirk's performance is the top single game output among the Korver brothers in their collegiate debuts. Kyle and Kaleb, both of whom played at Creighton, scored two points apiece in wins over Mississippi Valley State and DePaul, respectively, while Klayton (Drake) netted three points in a victory over Simpson in 2003.
TEAM CAPTAINS
The Kangaroos have a trio of captains for the 2009-10 season. Juniors Spencer Johnson and Jay Couisnard and sophomore LaTreze Mushatt will don the captain titles this season. Couisnard assumes the leadership role despite not having played a single minute in UMKC Blue and Gold.
YOUNG SQUAD
UMKC's roster of 15 players includes five freshmen, five sophomores and five juniors. The freshmen are Alex Bazzell, Fred Chatmon, Kirk Korver, Max Rockmann and Aaron Young. The sophomores are Dustin Dibble, Michael Gholston, Jr., Patrick Inyard, Trey McKinney-Jones and LaTreze Mushatt.
Gholston, Jr. is in his first year at UMKC after attending State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., last season.
HOME SWEET SWINNEY
The Kangaroos will play a total of 14 home games during the regular season with five games being contested on campus at Swinney Recreation Center. It will be the most home games at SRC since the pre-Division I era.
THEY'RE SOPHS, BUT LIKE UPPERCLASSMEN
In the roster they are listed as sophomores, but LaTreze Mushatt, Trey McKinney-Jones and Dustin Dibble saw more action than your typical freshmen in 2008-09. Mushatt and McKinney-Jones played in all 31 games for the 'Roos with the duo making 25 and 13 starts, respectively. Dibble, meanwhile, earned the starting nod in 12 games as a newcomer a season ago.
RAINING THREES
UMKC has made at least one three-point basket in 282 consecutive regular season or tournament games dating back to Jan. 22, 2000.
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