Roos Earn Revenge in Denver

Thursday, January 27

Denver, CO

8:00 PM

Kansas City

12-8,5-3Summit League

Denver

8-15,4-6Summit League

Kansas City

Denver

1/27/2022 10:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Box Final Box (PDF)

Gilyard drops 23 points and Kansas City moves into fourth in Summit standings

DENVER, Colo. – Kansas City Men's Basketball (12-8, 5-3) earned revenge in Denver (8-15, 4-6) tonight, finishing with a 72-61 victory. Evan Gilyard II surpassed the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season, leading the Roos with 23 points. Arkel Lamar, Marvin Nesbitt Jr. and Anderson Kopp joined Gilyard in double-digit scoring and all four players shot above 45% on the night.

KEY MOMENTS

1H / 7-2 | Nesbitt drove through the lane for an easy basket and the first seven points of the game for the Roos.
1H / 19-14 | Wide open beyond the arc, Sam Martin hit the Roos' third three of the night.

1H | Sam is sneaky?? Wide open for the Roos' third three of the night#ROOUP | @sam_martinnnn pic.twitter.com/PrQXdw952s
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 28, 2022

1H / 24-15 | In just 20 seconds of game play, Gilyard went on a five-point run to extend the lead.
1H / 29-20 | From the logo, Kopp stepped in to keep the threes raining in the first half.

1H | Kopp drops one from downtown Denver??#DeclareKC | @anderson_kopp pic.twitter.com/olidBL8Lbw
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 28, 2022

1H / 32-21 | Kopp found his spot from deep once again to lead all scorers with 10 going into halftime.
2H / 37-36 | Gilyard converted the three-point play at the free throw line to regain the lead.
2H / 51-46 | Gilyard showed his range, knocking down his first three of the night and adding 10 points in just 10 minutes in the second half.

2H | Like the man said, that one was from the ????????@EGillyy1 has 10 points in 10 minutes in the second half. pic.twitter.com/VVg2ZtbFxi
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 28, 2022

2H / 56-51 | Kansas City extended it to a two-possession game with another Kopp logo shot.
2H / 66-57 | A bounce pass to a wide-open Jacob Johnson in the lane led to a slam to extend the lead back out to nine.

2H | Oooweeee that one might've started an avalanche ????#KCRoos | @jacob3johnson pic.twitter.com/fwLnQDWS6y
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 28, 2022

2H / 72-61 | Lamar and Gilyard iced the game, converting four consecutive free throws to secure the victory.

STATS TO NOTE

Four Roos finished in double-digits, led by Gilyard with 23 points, two assists and two steals.
Lamar had a quiet 15 points, shooting an efficient 66,7% from the field. He also added four boards, three steals, an assist and a block.
Nesbitt made an impact in all categories, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a dime.
Finishing with three three-pointers for the ninth time this season, Kopp ended with 13 points and five boards.
In a defensive battle, Kansas City won the war on turnovers, converting 17 takeaways into 16 points.
The Roos out-ran the Pioneers in transition, earning seven points on fast breaks compared to zero from Denver.

COACH DONLON, QUOTED

"Proud of our guys, we beat a very well coached and talented team tonight. We made the plays in the last 10 minutes and that was the difference of the game."

UP NEXT

Kansas City will continue their road trip with a stop in Omaha on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Roos will then continue to Western Illinois on Monday for a 6 p.m. matchup with the Leathernecks.