Roos Win Fourth-Straight After 68-63 Defeat of Utah Valley

Saturday, January 4

Kansas City, MO

7:00 PM

Kansas City

9-7,2-0WAC

Utah Valley

7-10,1-1WAC

Utah Valley

Kansas City

Roos Win Fourth-Straight After 68-63 Defeat of Utah Valley

1/4/2020 9:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the third-straight game, senior Jahshire Hardnett hit another big shot. It was Hardnett's late-game heroics that again were the difference as Kansas City Men's Basketball (9-7, 2-0) moved to 6-0 at home and needed a final push to take down Utah Valley (7-10, 1-1), 68-63, tonight at Swinney Center.

Hardnett swished in a three-pointer at the top of the key with 35.8 seconds remaining to put the Roos up 64-63. Four Hardnett free throws later and the Roos would win their fourth-straight game on the season. The clutch shot is becoming a norm for the BYU transfer. As some people call him "Big Shot Hardnett," he has now poured in the game-winning three-pointer in each of the past three games with under a minute remaining.

"It (game-winner) was definitely a shot that I work on every day," said Hardnett in the post-game press conference. "Coach called the play "Kobe" (for Kobe Bryant) and I was able to knock it in."

Kansas City held control for almost all of the first half. After Utah Valley scored the first three points of the game, the Roos cruised out to an 18-6 lead at the 12:09 mark. Kansas City continued their first-half dominance always holding at least an eight-point advantage into the locker room. Up 30-19 at the half, the Roos' defense limited Utah Valley to 30 percent (6-of-20) shooting and forced 16 turnovers.

But Utah Valley, two nights removed from a 21-point victory at Chicago State, went on a 24-15 spurt in the first 10 minutes of the second half to get back in it. At that point, Kansas City was up 45-43. A few minutes later, a pair of free throws by senior Jordan Giles put the Roos up 53-45, before the Wolverines got some offensive firepower from guard Brandon Averette.

Starting with a runner in the lane, Averette scored 10-straight points for Utah Valley and brought his club back to a one-point deficit at 56-55 with 4:41 left.

Two possessions later, Utah Valley grabbed its first lead since the opening minute of the game on two free throws. At the 1:20 mark, Utah Valley's Isaiah White made a bucket to put his team up 63-61. But that is when Hardnett took over.

After a turnover, the Roos turned to the hot left hand of Hardnett. Saddled with foul trouble in the second half, Hardnett only took one other shot prior to the three-pointer. But he knew that his team needed him down the stretch once again.

Hardnett recorded a game-high 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting. He added two assists and two steals. In his past six games, he has averaged 15.0 points, up from his 9.2 season average.

Giles netted 16 points, senior Javan White added 13 and Rob Whitfield finished with 10 in the winning effort. White led his team in rebounding for the 11^th time this year with nine boards.

Utah Valley put five players in double-figures led by 16 from Averette. TJ Washington had 13 and White posted 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The team's best shooting team in the conference, Kansas City was 41.5 percent (22-of-53) overall, including 7-of-17 (.412) from downtown.

Utah Valley finished at a 34.5 percent clip.

Next Up

Kansas City hits the road for its first conference test of the season at UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 9 for a 7 pm tip.

Quick Hitters

By holding Utah Valley to 19 first-half points, it marks the third time this year a Kansas City opponent scored under 20 points in one half.
Senior Javan White finished with 13 points tonight, and did so mostly in the second half. His first points came at the 2:42 mark of the first half.
The four-game win streak is the longest since the Roos had a four-gamer near the end of the 2017-18 season.
Kansas City snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with Utah Valley and improved to 7-4 on its home court against the Wolverines.
Kansas City moves to 8-0 this year when shooting a higher percentage than its opponent.
The Roos have been clutch down the stretch this season. They are a perfect 4-0 in games decided by one-possession.