Kansas City
7-6,2-1Summit League
Omaha
3-14,2-4Summit League
Men's Basketball Wins Thriller over Omaha
1/10/2022 10:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Arkel Lamar led the way with 20 points and seven rebounds in the Roos' first game of 2022
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Following an 18-day break, Kansas City Men's Basketball (7-6, 2-1) extended its win-streak to two games this evening, defeating Omaha, 64-61. The Roos used 23 Maverick turnovers to their advantage, scoring 32 points. Arkel Lamar led the KC offense in his third game since returning from injury, scoring a Kansas City-career-high 20 points and pulling down seven rebounds in the win.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H / 2-4 | Evan Gilyard II got the scoring started for Kansas City with a running floater in the lane.
- 1H / 11-7 | The Roos erased an early deficit, jumping out to a four-point lead on the corner three-pointer by Marvin Nesbitt Jr.
- 1H / 17-21 | Gilyard forced an Omaha turnover, finding Jacob Johnson in the fast break for a dunk.
Getting out in transition ??#ROOUP | @jacob3johnson pic.twitter.com/sXBnHbpuZN
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 11, 2022
- 1H / 23-29 | Lamar pulled down a defensive board and finished a hanging layup in midair to spark a 9-0 run for the Roos.
- 1H / 30-29 | Jack Chapman forced an Omaha turnover and Gilyard found Nesbitt for an alley-oop in transition to cap the run and give KC the lead.
Not a bad way to take the lead.#ROOUP | #DeclareKC pic.twitter.com/Lr2X6YhSnf
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 11, 2022
- 2H / 35-34 | Omaha scored the first four points after the half to take the lead, but it was quickly when Gilyard found Lamar for a layup in the paint.
- 2H / 41-38 | Caden Boser knocked down a triple for his lone field goal of the game to put the Roos in front.
- 2H / 50-46 | Lamar sunk his first three-pointer of the game to extend the Kansas City lead to four going into the under-12 timeout.
2H | Arkel knocks down his first triple of the game at a big moment to extend the lead.#ROOUP | #DeclareKC pic.twitter.com/o1YkEfMp85
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 11, 2022
- 2H / 55-51 | Shemarri Allen dished to Lamar for another lead-extending triple.
- 2H / 61-57 | Gilyard took away his third steal of the game, finding Nesbitt in transition to maintain the lead at four with five minutes remaining.
- 2H / 64-61 |Â Gilyard hit one-of-two free throws with seven seconds remaining, and the Roos came up with a stop on the other end to win the game.
STATS TO NOTE
- Lamar paced the Roos off the bench with a season-high 20 points and seven rebounds. It was his first 20-point performance since his days at UMBC, dropping 20 against the University of New Hampshire on Jan. 3, 2018.
- Kansas City forced 23 turnovers, leading to 32 points off turnovers. It was the third time this season that the Roos forced 20-plus turnovers.
- Nesbitt filled the stat sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
- Gilyard II dished out a career-high-tying seven assists and grabbed three steals. Â
- The Roos scored 38 points in the paint and 10 fast break points.
THE ROOS, QUOTED
Head Coach Billy Donlon
- "I'm really proud of the guys, we got down by eight in the first half and made a run and took the lead into halftime, which I thought was really important."
- "(Defending the three-point line) has always been something we've valued in our defense … Omaha does a great job with their schemes, and I thought our guys' pressure really bothered them."
- "I've been battling injuries my entire career, so I'm kind of used to dealing with it, getting back and getting acclimated to the team. I feel pretty good."
UP NEXT
The Roos waste little time getting back to action, hosting Baptist Bible tomorrow night at 7 p.m.Â
