Kansas City
16-9,9-4Summit League
St. Thomas
8-15,2-9Summit League
Roos Outlast St. Thomas on the Road
2/8/2022 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Marvin Nesbitt Jr. continued his hot play, scoring a game-high 22 points
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Kansas City Men's Basketball's (16-9, 9-4) first-ever trip to the Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul proved fruitful as the Roos defeated St. Thomas, 76-67. Marvin Nesbitt Jr. went for 20-plus point for the second game in-a-row, finishing with a game-high 22. Evan Gilyard II and Arkel Lamar each finished in double-digits, while Josiah Allick posted eight points and a team-high seven rebounds in his return to action.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H / 4-4 | Scoring came at a premium in the early going, when Evan Gilyard II knocked a steal loose and took it the other way for an early tie.
- 1H / 11-16 | After a 7-1 St. Thomas run, Allick got on the board for his first points since Dec. 12 to stop the bleeding.
- 1H / 28-27 | Kansas City took its first lead of the game on a nifty move by Nesbitt, spinning towards the baseline and putting up a jump-hook.
- 2H / 38-37 | After scoring just two points in the first half, Gilyard got going in the second half with a fast break layup to put the Roos up by one.
2H | Blink and ya miss him ?? Roos have the lead.#ROOUP | @EGillyy1 pic.twitter.com/jgmewKXDB2
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) February 9, 2022
- 2H / 44-43 | The teams continued to trade buckets, with Shemarri Allen taking a hand off from Gilyard and flushing it with two hands to give KC a one-point edge.
- 2H / 59-57 | A double-team came to cover Nesbitt, but he took on the challenge and knocked down the turnaround jumper to give the Roos the lead for good.
- 2H / 69-59 | The Roos led 61-59 with 3:35 to play, but proceeded to go on an 8-0 run over the span of the next 2:35 to create all the separation they needed.
2H | My ????????????????, Arkel ??
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) February 9, 2022
Six point lead with under three minutes left.#ROOUP | #DeclareKC pic.twitter.com/Ixut6Mblhj
STATS TO NOTE
- With nine conference wins and five regular season games remaining, the Roos have matched the 2010-11 squad with the most-ever league wins in eight seasons as members of The Summit League.
- Nesbitt followed up his career-high 26-point game with a 22-point showing tonight. In his first 113 career games as a Roo, he had broken the 20-point mark just twice.
- Gilyard finished with 18 points, shooting 10-of-10 from the free throw line. It is the second time this season that he has scored 10-plus from the charity stripe.
- The Roos forced St. Thomas into 13 turnovers on the day, and outscored the Tommies 18-4 in the fast break.
- The Roos shot 43.4% from the field on the day, their second-lowest field goal percentage in a win this season.
- Kansas City held St. Thomas to 28.0% shooting from three-point land, the ninth game in-a-row holding their opponent below 35% long-range shooting.
- The Roos now have six road wins this season, one away from tying the 2004-05 Roos for the most in a single season.
- Billy Donlon now has 43 wins as coach of the Roos, tying Bob Sundvold for fifth-most in program history.
COACH BILLY DONLON, QUOTED
- "Six games in 12 days, and our guys really handled the challenge. Great team effort. St. Thomas is very challenging to play and prepare for."
UP NEXT
The Roos remain on the road this weekend, seeking revenge for an early-season 84-72 loss at the hands of Oral Roberts on Saturday at 7 p.m.
