Kansas City
10-13,6-4Summit League
Denver
12-12,3-8Summit League
Roos Exact Revenge on Denver Behind Allen's 23 Points
1/28/2023 10:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kansas City dominated in the paint and ran away with the game late
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In a physical matchup, Kansas City Men's Basketball (10-13, 6-4 Summit) was able to come out with a 70-60 victory over Denver (12-12, 3-8 Summit). The Roos' big men put a stamp on the game with their physicality and clutch buckets, outpacing Denver despite foul trouble.
The Roos capitalized down the stretch, forcing 19 Denver turnovers. Finishing with eight blocks and eight steals, Kansas City's defense quickly turned into offense, scoring 23 points off turnovers.
Leading the team, Shemarri Allen put up an impressive 23 points, a career-high nine rebounds and five assists. Allen was supported by RayQuawndis Mitchell, who scored 13 points, and a solid 10-point, four-block performance from Allen David Mukeba Jr.
Ultimately, the Roos made a statement, going on an 8-0 run to extend their lead in the final minutes of the game. Back-to-back dunks from Precious C. Idiaru and Promise C. Idiaru late in the game gave Kansas City the momentum it needed to close out the victory.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H – 18:14 / 2-0 | Allen opened up scoring with a putback layup off his own miss.
- 1H – 13:29 / 6-7 | Allen jumped the passing lane for a steal and took it all the way for a left-handed layup.
- 1H – 8:41 / 11-14 | Mitchell hit the corner three off the Mukeba Jr. offensive board and assist.
- 1H – 7:02 / 16-16 | Allen dribbled to the top of the key for a deep three late in the shot clock.
- 1H – 4:52 / 20-23 | Tyler Andrews sprinted to the rim for a block on a dunk attempt.
1H | hahahhahahha, @tyylaaaa was having none of that one. pic.twitter.com/BXlcUYhVzY
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 29, 2023
- 2H – 18:14 / 29-30 | Jeff Ngandu started the second half with a strong left-handed baby hook.
- 2H – 14:00 / 37-33 | Mitchell passed to Allen in-stride for the driving layup.
- 2H – 13:02 / 42-35 | Mitchell hits a contested deep-three from the wing assisted by Mukeba.
- 2H – 7:40 / 50-46 | Pro. Idiaru goes up and under for the layup off an inbound pass from Allen.
- 2H – 3:39 / 58-52 | Allen put a spin move on his defender and makes the turn around mid-range jumper.
- 2H – 1:55 / 62-52 | Pre. Idiaru snatched a steal and took it all the way for the one-handed dunk.
2H | Somebody check on that rim, @precious_dq did damage ?? pic.twitter.com/WVKrQPGl2d
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 29, 2023
STATS TO NOTE
- At the half, Kansas City went into the locker room with five players each having two fouls. Kansas City finished the game with 24 fouls, but no Roos fouled out.
- The Roos racked up 11 points off turnovers in the first half.
- Kansas City scored 14-of-27 first half points off second chance opportunities.
- Kansas City got to work quickly in the second half with a 12-to-3 run led by Allen and Mitchell.
- The Roos scored 38-of-70 points in the paint.
- Shooting 84.4% on 32 free throw attempts allowed Denver to stay in the game.
- The Roos matched their season average tonight, shooting 40% from the field.
THE ROOS, QUOTED
Coach Marvin Menzies
"We knew it was going to be a 40-minute game, we knew it was going to be a battle, our guys really wanted to get a little payback for the triple-overtime loss there and they were able to do that, so I am happy for them."
"Confidence is a beautiful thing, belief in your players and expressing that belief through the frustration is a skill… It really comes back down to Promise and Precious being great kids… They have their own synergy that's mutually exclusive to the rest of the team, so we thought we could try and take advantage of that and its come to fruition."
"I trust my teammates every night. I know they will come through for me, one through five, we've always got each other's backs. If one man's down, we pick him up and find another way to get another guy going, that's the beauty of having a lot of young guys."
"(The crowd's intensity was) amazing. Tonight's crowd was the biggest I've seen in a while. I'm glad to see the students out here and the community as well. Coach Menzies does a great job of getting us in different events, meeting new people in the community and getting them to come out to games."
UP NEXT
The Roos will be back in action at the Swinney Center to take on South Dakota State on Monday, Jan. 30, with a 7 p.m. tip-off.
