Kansas City
Middle Tennessee State
Kansas City Falls to Middle Tennessee in Final Bahamas Game
11/26/2023 12:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Blue Raiders used a 25-1 run midway through the game to claim the momentum
NASSAU, Bahamas - A big mid-game run hurt Kansas City Men's Basketball's (2-5) chances against Middle Tennessee today in the Baha Mar Nassau Championship seventh-place game as the Roos fell, 63-59. The Roos out-shot the Blue Raiders from the field and from three, but MTSU scored 11 more points at the free throw line and secured a victory.
Kansas City appeared in control of the game early, with Jamar Brown and Artese Stapleton leading the way to a 12-point lead late in the first half. However, Middle Tennessee went on a 25-1 run that spanned from the end of the first half into the beginning of the second half and held the lead for the rest of the game. The Roos were able to cut the lead as small as two late in the game, but could not get over the hump.
Stapleton led Kansas City's scoring efforts with 14 points, his first double-digit game as a Roo. Brown played all 40 minutes, logging 13 points and a team-high-tying five rebounds.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H - 14:25 / 10-5 | The Roos got out to an early five-point lead, secured when Allen David Mukeba Jr. jumped into the passing lane and grabbed a steal, then came down to the other end and scored his second bucket of the day on an assist from Khristion Courseault.
- 1H - 11:30 / 16-8 | Kansas City doubled up the Blue Raiders with a six-point run, capped when Melvyn Ebonkoli nabbed a steal and found Brown in the fast break for a dunk through contact. Brown would complete the three-point play with a free throw after the media timeout.
- 1H - 4:23 / 30-18 | Anderson Kopp found Brown for his second three-pointer of the day to surpass the double-digit mark, extending KC's lead to 12 points, the largest of the half. Middle Tennessee ended the half on a 10-1 run and drew within three at the break.
- 2H - 14:58 / 33-43 | Middle Tennessee's hot streak carried into the second half, scoring the first 15 points of the half and jumping out to a double-digit lead. The run came to an end as Ebonkoli got the Roos into the scoring column, but MTSU would proceed on an 8-1 run to extend the lead to 17.
- 2H - 10:36 / 41-51 | Kansas City cut into the Middle Tennessee lead with a seven-point run, starting with a three from Tyler Andrews, using a layup by Artese Stapleton and finishing with a second-chance bucket by Mukeba.
- 2H - 6:41 / 53-56 | The Roos drew back within three, courtesy of a Cameron Faas takeover. After not scoring in the first 30 minutes of game play, he poured in a quick eight points via a pair of threes and a mid-range jumper. Kansas City would hit another late cold streak, going scoreless over the next four minutes as Middle Tennessee extended the lead back out to six.
- 2H - 0:09 / 59-62 | After forcing a Blue Raider miss, Kansas City came down the court and Artese Stapleton hit a floater to cut the lead back down to three. However, it was not enough as the Roos would fall to MTSU.
STATS TO NOTE
- The Roos made 23 field goals on 44.2% shooting and seven threes on 36.8% shooting. On the other hand, the Blue Raiders had 20 field goals on 43.5% shooting and knocked down six threes at a 30.0% clip.
- Stapleton becomes the fourth player to lead the Roos in scoring in seven games so far this season. The Roos have yet to have a 20-point scorer, the first time without a player reaching that mark through the first seven games of the season since 1988-89.
- Every player that saw the court for Kansas City scored, a first this season. The Roos also played just nine players throughout the game, a season-low.
- Mukeba made his mark on the stat sheet, finishing with eight points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals in his first start of the year.
UP NEXT
Kansas City returns to the Swinney Center for a game on Thursday, hosting Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. on the Summit League Network.Â
