Kansas City
7-12,3-3Summit League
Western Illinois
10-8,3-4Summit League
Roos Struggle Offensively in Loss to Leathernecks
1/14/2023 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kansas City shot 31.3% from the field in its first league loss at home
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Men's Basketball (7-12, 3-3 Summit) dropped a hard-fought conference battle to Western Illinois (10-8, 3-4) this evening, 60-52. RayQuawndis Mitchell led the way in scoring with 17 points while Jeff Ngandu finished with his second-straight double-double, dropping 10 points and pulling down 17 boards.
The Roos kept the game tight through the first half, despite shooting 2-of-10 from three-point range.. The second half saw Western Illinois shoot 9-of-21 from the field and 3-of-7 from behind the arc, while the Roos went cold, connecting on just 10-of-39 shots. Kansas City had some opportunities late but couldn't quite go on a big enough run and dropped a Summit League game at home for the first time this season.
Shemarri Allen finished in double-digits for the seventh-straight game, dropping 12 points and adding four steals. The Roos pulled down 19 offensive boards on the night, converting them to 16 second chance points.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H – 18:39 / 2-0 | Jeff Ngandu got the ball down low and passed to a cutting Tyler Andrews for a two-handed slam to get the Roos on the board.
- 1H – 13:07 / 8-10 | Babacar Diallo rebounded Mitchell's miss and laid it up to draw the Roos closer midway through the half.
- 1H – 6:53 / 14-23 | Andrews kicked it out to Ngandu for a top of the key jumper to bring the Roos within single digits.
- 1H – 3:24 / 21-26 | Mitchell used his isolation skills to get a step-back three-pointer to draw the game closer.
- 2H – 19:23 / 27-29 | Ngandu cleaned up a miss on the offensive glass and dunked it to get the Roos going in the second half.
2H | We like this @JeffNgandu ?? pic.twitter.com/m7GeiXg7Oz
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 15, 2023
- 2H – 13:24 / 33-38 | Allen made a driving layup to keep the Roos within striking distance.
- 2H - 7:55 / 43-47 | Allen assisted a cutting Andrews on a driving layup through contact, and Andrews converted on the free throw to cut the deficit to four.
- 2H – 2:31 / 47-52 | Andrews made a driving floater to pull the Roos within five late in the game, but Western Illinois would go on to close the game out with a 60-52 win.
STATS TO NOTE
- Ngandu grabbed 17 rebounds for the second-straight game tonight, becoming the first player in program history to reach that mark in back-to-back games.
- Mitchell played the full 40 minutes this evening, the fourth time he's done so this season. He has played at least 37 minutes in every conference matchup.
- After making at least six threes and shooting above 30% from deep in each of the past five games, KC made just three triples and shot at a 12% clip tonight.
- Allen's four steals brings his season average up to a Summit League leading 1.9 per game, ranking top-60 in the nation.
COACH MARVIN MENZIES, QUOTED
"(Western Illinois) was just tougher tonight, and that's unacceptable … I could give you all the reasons that it didn't happen tonight, but it's not the end of the world."
UP NEXT
The Roos will head up north for next week's action, taking on North Dakota on Thursday and North Dakota State on Saturday.
