Kansas City
7-11,3-2Summit League
St. Thomas
13-7,4-3Summit League
Roos Use Late Run to Blow Past St. Thomas
1/12/2023 10:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RayQuawndis Mitchell scored 29 and Jeff Ngandu went for a double-double as the Roos cruised to victory
KANSAS CITY, Mo- Kansas City Men's basketball (7-11, 3-2 Summit) took home an impressive 81-60 win this evening against St. Thomas (13-7, 4-3 Summit) in a physical battle. RayQuawndis Mitchell led the way in scoring with 29 points, and Jeff Ngandu recorded his first double-double of his career with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
It was a back-and-forth first half that saw both teams trade the lead, but the Roos shot 44.4% from the field and 30% from behind the arc to take a 33-32 lead into the halftime break. Head Coach Marvin Menzies alluded to how the Tommies were able to create tough matchups in the first half for Kansas City and how it was a point of emphasis in the second half to adjust.
The Roos' offense exploded in the second half, shooting 51.85% from the field and an impressive 6-of-12 from three-point land. Some key late stops would close the door on St. Thomas and finished off what was a very balanced and efficient night for the Roos.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H – 17:49 / 6-2 | Ngandu slammed home a ferocious dunk to give the crowd some energy early.
- 1H – 7:26 / 15-16 | Shemarri Allen forced a steal at mid-court and took it himself the other way for a transition dunk.
- 1H – 2:48 / 28-25 | Mitchell hoisted up a three with a defender in his face and drilled it through contact to give the Roos the lead again.
1H | pew pew pew @rayquawndis pic.twitter.com/dzmX3P2erB
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 13, 2023
- 2H – 15:48 / 45-40 | Allen hit a step back three-pointer to increase the Roos' lead early in the second half.
- 2H – 8:07 / 58-48 | Ngandu came flying into the paint off a Mitchell missed three-pointer and slammed it down to give the Roos their largest lead of the night.
2H | Oh .... Oh my goodness @JeffNgandu that's how you're feeling???? pic.twitter.com/nfa5d5gqbw
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 13, 2023Â
- 2H – 2:22 / 76-58 | Mitchell hit a tough jumper in the paint to put the icing on the cake of the Roos' dominant 81-60 win.
STATS TO NOTE
- Adding to his first collegiate double-double, Ngandu's 17 rebounds were the most by a Roo since Fred Chatmon reached that mark in a loss to Houston Christian on Jan. 22, 2013.
- Kansas City held the Tommies to 5-of-24 three-point shooting, a 20.8% mark. That percentage is UST's lowest three-point showing of the season.
- The Roos used a nine-point run from the 7:57 mark of the second half until the 5:01 mark to extend an eight-point lead out to 17 and take control of the game.
- KC shot 48.1% from the field on the game, the team's third game in-a-row eclipsing the 48% mark.
- Mitchell's 29-point performance was his sixth time this season scoring 27-or-more. KC is 5-1 in such games. In addition, he has reached the 20-point mark in each of the last three games, becoming the first Roo to score 20-plus in three-straight games since Brandon McKissic from Jan. 23 through Feb. 12, 2021.
THE ROOS, QUOTED
Coach Marvin Menzies
"We know what these guys are capable of, it's good to see that the fans came out and we had such a good crowd that was able to witness it and hopefully kind of spread the word."
"The thing about Jeff is that he's a freshman, so he's got a long way to go. We started three freshmen tonight, so to have this kind of result with that youth on the court is a good narrative that needs to get out there."
Jeff Ngandu
"I'm happy that the work I've been putting in is starting to show up … We're only 25% way through conference, so we still have a lot to do. The most important part is still ahead of us."
UP NEXT
The Roos remain at home on Saturday for a meeting with Western Illinois at the Swinney Center at 7 p.m.
