Kansas City
2-4,0-0Summit League
Toledo
3-1,0-0MAC
Mitchell Leads Roos to First Round Victory at Gulf Coast Showcase
11/21/2022 2:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RayQuawndis Mitchell dropped a career-high 35 points, including 23 in the second half, as the Roos ran past Toledo
ESTERO, Fla. – Kansas City sent early shock waves through southwest Florida as the Roos defeated heavily-favored Toledo 83-71 on Monday in the first game of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Hertz Arena. It was Kansas City's first win of the season against a Division I opponent and it came against a team getting votes in the latest Top 25 poll and 5th in the Mid-Major Poll after its 3-0 start.
RayQuawndis Mitchell scored a career high 35 points, making seven of nine from the field and 18-of-20 from the free throw line. The 18 free throws tied a school record for makes in a game, tying the great Tony Dumas, who accomplished the feat on three occasions. Mitchell also had six rebounds and made three-of-four from three-point territory.
It was the free throw shooting of Kansas City that built up the late lead after two free throws by Toledo's JT Shumate tied the score at 65-65 with 4:40 remaining. Mitchell and Shemarri Allen combined to score the next 15 points of the game to break the game open. Mitchell hit on seven-of-eight free throws and Allen on all four of his attempts before Toledo finally. scored with 1:02 left.
Allen and Anderson Kopp scored 13 points each for Kansas City, while Allen David Mukeba Jr. added 12 points on six-of-six shooting and a game-high nine rebounds. It was Mukeba who got the Roos off the a fast start, scoring six points on the inside early in the game as the Roos jumped out to a 13-2 lead.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H / 15:32 - 13-2 | Kansas City came out aggressive on both ends of the floor, hitting six-of-eight field goal attempts and holding the high-scoring Toledo squad to one-for-seven from the floor. Allen Mukeba hit his first three shots and had three rebounds to lead the Roos.
- 1H / 7:58 - 23-14 | RayQuawndis Mitchell hit two three-pointers and Mukeba threw down a vicious dunk as the Roos maintained a seven-point lead at the third media timeout.
1H | CHILL OUT @h23_jr ?? pic.twitter.com/1NC9p8BBOC
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) November 21, 2022
- HALFTIME / 33-38 | Toledo scored the final eight points of the first half to take a five-point lead into intermission. With the score tied 33-33, Toledo had four offensive rebounds during one possession and finally drained a three-pointer to take its first lead of the game.
- 2H / 15:31 - 42-40 | The Roos scored seven straight points to re-take the lead at the first media timeout of the second half. Mukeba started the run with a layup for his sixth basket in six attempts from the field. The Roos are also enjoying a 24-10 advantage in the paint. Allen also went to the bench with his third found at the 16:37 mark.
- 2H / 7:50 - 59-58 | Toledo, behind 10 points in the paint, took a 58-54 lead, but Kopp hit a three-pointer and Ngandu grabbed his own miss for a put-back and the Roos jumped back out in front at the 8:00 media timout. Kansas City was still shooting better than 50 percent from the field at 52.3.
- 2H / 3:11 - 70-65 | Mitchell scored two points from the line, a basket in the lane and one from three-point land as the Roos moved ahead 70-65 at the fourth and final media timeout of the second half. Mitchell is leading all scorers with 28 points.
STATS TO NOTE
- Toledo hit two three pointers among eight-straight points as Toledo tied the score at 27-27. Toledo was successful on its last six field goal attempts.
- In taking a 33-30 lead, Kansas City had a 16-8 advantage in points in the paint, including a huge dunk by Precious Idiaru that game that broke a 27-27 tie.
- The Roos had a season-low five turnovers in the first half. Toledo also had a season low with three. The team finished with a season-low 11 for the game.
- Kansas City hit six of 10 shots from the field and out-rebounded the Rockets 7-2 in the first seven minutes of the second half.
- Picked to finish second in the competitive Mid-American Conference, Toledo was fifth in the country in scoring offense at 96.7 ppg, and seventh in field goal percentage at 53.6, but the Roos held the Rockets to 71 points and 39.4 percent from the field.
- After shooting a combined 34.5 percent against their previous Div. I opponents, the Roos shot 54 percent from the field vs. Toledo. Kansas City was also out-rebounded in the previous three Div. I games, but had a 35-24 advantage on the boards vs. Toledo.
COACH MARVIN MENZIES, QUOTED
"We needed this one. We took some lumps and have been close to some upset games, but this was an upset as well. This was a very, very good Toledo team."
"It is a long season and it's a process as we stack these bricks together. No one brick is more valuable than the one before or the one after, i's just another brick in the wall. All of our goals are in front of us."
UP NEXT
Kansas City will be back on the Hertz Arena court Tuesday at 4 p.m. CT to face Indiana State, which defeated East Carolina 79-75 this afternoon.
