Kansas City
5-7,1-2Summit League
University of South Dakota
5-6,3-0Summit League
Comeback Falls Short Against South Dakota
1/8/2021 10:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City (5-7, 1-2) outscored South Dakota (5-6, 3-0) by 12 points in the second half and had a chance to tie the game with under a minute remaining, but in the end the Coyotes outlasted the Roos, 66-64.
"Give South Dakota credit, they came in and beat us on our home floor," Head Coach Billy Donlon said. "They're a good team, they're well-coached, but we were not effective offensively in the first half."
Kansas City connected on just 29-percent of its field goal attempts in the first half, including 4-of-14 three-point shooting. The Roos took eight more shot attempts than the Coyotes, but 47-percent first half shooting led to a 14-point deficit going into the break.
"South Dakota's pace to start the game put us on our heels and it felt like we were always chasing them," Donlon said. "Then, we were catching our breath on the offensive end and weren't cutting hard or moving the ball."
The Roos began to chip away at the USD lead in the second half, led by the play of Brandon McKissic. The two-time All-WAC Defensive player caused problems for the Coyotes, coming away with four steals in the second half alone. This translated into his offensive game as well. He finished the night with a game-high 19 points, 11 of which came in the second half.
Marvin Nesbitt Jr. and Zion Williams were invaluable for the Roos as well, as they were tasked with defending Preseason All-Summit First Teamer Stanley Umude. Umude was held to 5-of-13 shooting from the field for 18 points, four below his season average.
"I think we did a good job on (Umude)," Donlon said. "The problem was that we did a bad job on their other guys. I thought guarded more like ourselves in the second half, they had a hard time scoring."
Nesbitt and Williams produced on the offensive end as well. Nesbitt Jr. finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season while Williams ended with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Kansas City trailed by 12 points with eight minutes remaining in the game, but back-to-back threes by Caden Boser and McKissic gave the Roos new life. They cut the South Dakota lead down to three points three separate times, but never came up with the bucket to put them over the hump.
With 47 seconds on the clock, a Williams layup made the score 64-61 in favor of the Coyotes, and a defensive stop gave the Roos the ball with a chance to tie. However, an offensive foul was called, and USD's A.J. Plitzuweit sunk a pair of free throws to ice the game.
The Roos and Coyotes are right back at it again tomorrow, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. on the Roo Sports Network.
"We've got to do a better job to start the game tomorrow, and finish a few more plays," Donlon said. "That's going to be our focus."
