Kansas City
10-14,6-5Summit League
South Dakota State
12-11,7-4Summit League
Kansas City Suffers Last Minute Loss Against SDSU
1/30/2023 10:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
In a battle down to the final seconds, the Roos lost by just a point
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Men's Basketball (10-14, 6-5 Summit) fought from behind most of the game tonight, but were unable to emerge victorious, falling to South Dakota State (12-11, 7-4 Summit), 67-66. The Roos battled back to take a late lead, but the Jackrabbits hit a pair of free throws with just seconds remaining to take the win. Kansas City was led by Shemarri Allen with 23 points, five assists and five rebounds, followed by RayQuawndis Mitchell with 19 points and six rebounds. Allen David Mukeba Jr. led the Roos with 10 rebounds.
In the opening minutes of the game, South Dakota State jumped out to a quick 12-1 run with only an Allen free throw to put Kansas City on the board. The Jackrabbits extended their lead 20-7 midway through the first half, giving them their largest lead of the game. Mitchell kept the Roos within striking distance, putting up 12 first half points. The Roos went into the locker room down seven.
The Roos came out in the second half firing on all cylinders. Consecutive defensive stops from Jeff Ngandu, and buckets from Mitchell and Allen made it a one possession game, capping off an 8-2 run. From the first media timeout of the second half to the end of the game, it was a back-and-forth battle with the Jackrabbits coming out on top from the help of a 24 point outing from Zeke Mayo.
Mitchell knocked down a three with 11 minutes remaining that gave the Roos their first lead of the game. From there, it was anyone's game, with four ties and eight lead changes in the final 10 minutes.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H – 13:33 / 5-12 | South Dakota State started out on a 12-1 run going into the first media timeout. A pair of jumpers from Mukeba and Babacar Diallo helped get the Roos going bringing the score to 12-5.
- 1H – 7:25 / 16-26 | Diallo hit the first three of the night for Kansas City, bringing them to a 10 point deficit.
- 1H – 4:40 / 23-33 | Allen fought for the offensive rebound and a tough bucket under the rim to put the Roos within 10.
- 1H – 2:01 / 30-35 | Mitchell completed the traditional three-point play to cap off a 7-0 run for the Roos, bringing them within five. Mitchell put up 12 first half points to keep KC alive.
- 2H – 15:52 / 44-45 | Ngandu deflected an alley-oop in transition, getting the ball to Allen for a layup and drawing a foul. Following a timeout, Ngandu blocked a layup attempt to set up a transition and-one for Allen. This capped off an 8-2 run, bringing the Roos within their closest deficit since the early minutes of the game.
- 2H – 11:52 / 49-47 | Mitchell hit the go-ahead three off an assist from Allen to give the Roos their first lead of the game.
2H | For the Lead @rayquawndis ?? pic.twitter.com/tEPPy5LSiA
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 31, 2023
- 2H – 5:23 / 57-56 | Allen put the pressure on and grabbed a steal, taking it all the way for the one-handed dunk giving the Roos a one-point lead.
- 2H – :00 / 66-67 | Allen hit a go-ahead three with :30 seconds left, SDSU was fouled on the ensuing possession and made two free throws to give them a one-point lead with 12 seconds. After a hectic possession, Kansas City had one final chance under the basket with a second remaining. Mitchell looked to Allen for an alley-oop, but the attempt rolled off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
STATS TO NOTE
- South Dakota State started off hot, shooting 55.6% from the field with the Roos shooting 42.9%. SDSU led for 19:26 of the first half with their largest lead being 13.
- Kansas City contributed 15 points off the bench, three points above its season average.
- Allen has had double-digit scoring for the 12th straight game.
- Mitchell has had double-digit scoring for the 15th straight game.
- Ngandu came up with multiple blocks for the 9th time this season, the 5th time in conference play.
- SDSU attempted a season-low 15 three-point attempts, but were able to convert on six of their attempts.
COACH MARVIN MENZIES, QUOTED
"This was an excellent growth opportunity for us, it was an opportunity missed, but it's still an opportunity I think we can really really learn from."
"We do have a lot of fight in us, we do have a lot of spirited guys that when they're playing together and when they're connected, I think we can be very good. I like the fact that they competed … they paid more attention to detail in the second half than they did in the first half."
UP NEXT
The Roos have some time off before returning to the Swinney Center on Feb. 6 for a rematch with Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles took the first matchup, 74-71, on a last second half court shot.
