Kansas City
1-0,0-0Summit League
Avila
0-1
Roos Rattle Eagles for Season-Opening Win
11/6/2023 10:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kansas City used a balanced attack to take down Avila and begin the year in the win column
KANSAS CITY - Kansas City Men's Basketball (1-0) started the second season under Head Coach Marvin Menzies on the right foot this evening, disposing of Avila, 79-48. In his first game as a Roo, Jamar Brown led the team in scoring, dropping 16 points while adding six rebounds and four assists. Anderson Kopp returned to the court in a strong fashion as well, scoring 15 points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting.
Kansas City made a living on the defensive end, forcing the Eagles into 24 turnovers on the night. The Roos converted those turnovers into 32 points, while committing just eight turnovers of their own and allowing Avila five points off of turnovers.Â
On the night, 14 Roos saw the floor, and 13 of them got into the scoring column. The only player that did not score was Jeff Ngandu, who finished the night with three rebounds.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H - 17:57 / 3-2 | Brown drove the lane and drew the attention of the defense, kicking it out to a wide-open Cameron Faas in the corner. Faas rose up and sank the three-pointer, scoring the first points of the season for the Roos.
- 1H - 15:19 / 9-7 | Melvyn Ebonkoli pulled down an offensive board on a miss by Brown, going right back up through contact and finishing for the and-one bucket, giving Kansas City a lead that it would not surrender for the rest of the game.
- 1H - 7:26 / 24-16 | With Avila attempting to set up a full-court press, Brown send a cross-court pass to Kopp who drilled a three-pointer, his first of the night. Kopp should make another triple just moments later, giving the Roos their first double-digit lead of the night.
- 1H - 0:58 / 39-22 | Artese Stapleton found Brown in transition for a three-pointer, sending KC into the half with its largest lead of the night at 17 points.
- 2H - 18:18 / 46-22 | Khristion Courseault scored a bucket and Kopp went for five-straight as the Roos forced a pair of Avila turnovers and went on a 7-0 run to open the second half.
- 2H - 12:11 / 58-29 | The highlight of the night came as Brown forced an Avila turnover with his first steal of the evening, getting ahead of the pack in the fast break and elevating above the rim for a tomahawk jam.
2H | We always talk about the Rise of the Roos, so here is a Roo rising ????#ROOUP | #RiseOfTheRoos | @jamar_brown2 pic.twitter.com/yuEyZvFQjd
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) November 7, 2023
- 2H - 4:58 / 72-34 | After pulling down an Avila miss, Promise C. Idiaru passed the ball out to Babacar Diallo in the fast break, scoring the easy layup and extending KC's lead to a game-high 38 points. The Roos would coast to the victory from that point.
STATS TO NOTE
- Brown and Kopp were the only Roos to reach double-digit scoring. Allen David Mukeba Jr. had seven, while Courseault, Faas and Diallo had six each.
- The Roos were plus-16 in the turnover battle, a mark that the team never reached last season.
- Brown, Faas and Kopp shot a combined 7-of-15 from three-point range. The rest of the team combined to go 1-of-13 from deep. The lone other Roo to make a long-range shot was Malik Olafioye.
- Of KC's 79 points, 44 came from players making their first-ever appearance in a Kansas City jersey.
- Ebonkoli and Brown were KC's leaders on the boards, grabbing six each.
UP NEXT
The Roos remain at home for another contest on Saturday, playing St. Mary at 7 p.m. in the Swinney Center.
