Kansas City
3-4,0-0Summit League
Indiana State
4-1,0-0MVC
Roos Knock Off Sycamores, Advance to Gulf Coast Championship Game
11/22/2022 7:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Shemarri Allen led all scorers with a career-high 22, and grabbed his own offensive rebound to ice the game
ESTERO, Fla. – Kansas City continued to make free throws down the stretch, but it was a missed free throw and offensive rebound by Shemarri Allen with 1.2 seconds remaining that preserved a 63-61 victory over Indiana State Tuesday in the first semifinal game of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Hertz Arena. The win advances the Roos to the title game Wednesday at 6:30 CT.
RayQuawndis Mitchell hit two of three free throws, his final two with 12 seconds left to give the Roos a 62-58 lead. Cooper Neese answered with a guarded three with five seconds left to pull the Sycamores within one. A heads-up long inbounds pass to Allen resulted in a foul and Allen went to the line. After making the first for a two-point lead, Allen's second attempt bounced off the rim and fell into his own arms as the clock ran out.
Allen led the Roos with a career-high 22 points, making eight-of-12 shots from the floor and six-of-eight from the line while grabbing six rebounds. Michell had 18 points and made 11-of-12 free throws, giving him 29 free throws in 32 attempts for the tournament. Anderson Kopp was also in double figures with 11 points, including two three-pointers during an 11-0 Kansas City run that gave the Roos a 44-39 lead.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H / 17:34 – 6-3 | After hitting 18 free throws in the Toledo game, it took less than three minutes for RayQuawndis Mitchell to get to the line in this game – making both to give Kansas City what ended up being its largest lead of the half.
- 1H / 6:03 - 19-18 | Kansas City had its final lead of the first half on a layup by Anderson Kopp. Courvoisie McCauley then buried three-point field goals on succession possessions to give the Sycamores their largest lead of the first half, 24-19.
- HALF / 28-30 | There were five ties and nine lead changes in the first half as Indiana State took a two-point lead into the intermission. After a relatively quiet first-round game with 13 points, Allen led all scorers with 11 points.
- 2H / 16:09 - 33-34 | After scoring 35 points vs. Toledo, Mitchell scored his first field goal of the game to bring the Roos within a point.
- 2H / 9:17 - 44-39 | Kopp hit back-to-back three-point in the midst of an 11-0 run, giving KC a five-point lead. Kopp had been one-for-five from three-point land prior to his run. Two Mitchell free throws built the lead to seven points before Indiana State hit a three.
2H | ANOTHER ONE @anderson_kopp ??
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) November 22, 2022
?? @FloHoops pic.twitter.com/6Y5LGxotnI
- 2H / :53 – 59-51 | A resounding dunk by Allen give the Roos a comfortable eight-point lead in what was their final field goal of the game. Kansas City ran an isolation play for Allen and he dribbled down the lane and threw the ball down, igniting cheers from the bench.
2H | @shemarriallen23 YOU ARE CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF ??
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) November 23, 2022
?? @FloHoops pic.twitter.com/9JmfBdIyhD
STATS TO NOTE
- The Roos forced 13 turnovers in the first half, resulting in 13 Kansas City points. KC forced the Sycamores into 18 total turnovers on the game.
- During the Roos' 11-0 run in the second half, Indiana State missed five shots and had four turnovers.
- 61-of-63 points for the Roos came from their starting lineup. The lone bench points came from Promise C. Idiaru, who pulled down an offensive board, drew a foul and sunk two free throws that extended the Roos' lead to six with just a minute-and-a-half remaining.
- Kansas City went 23-of-31 from the free-throw line, their third game this year converting 20-plus free throws. In comparison, the Roos had just three games with 20-plus free throw makes all of last season.
- The Roos outscored the Sycamores by 13 from the charity stripe, their largest positive margin at the free throw line since Feb. 8 of last season.
COACH MARVIN MENZIES, QUOTED
"When it counted, they listened, they fought and they did enough to get the W. I always say, every once in a while you have a game that you get a win and a lot of lessons. There were a lot of lessons this game."
"These early games don't really mean much. They're good for fans, they're good for social media, the kids and their emotions, but I'm a little bit too seasoned to get too excited about winning a non-conference game in a one-bid league."
UP NEXT
Kansas City will be back on the Hertz Arena court Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT to play for the Gulf Coast Showdown championship against the winner of the Drexel vs Florida Gulf Coast semifinal. The Roos will seek their first-ever championship in an in-season tournament in program history.
