Kansas City
6-9,1-1Summit League
St. Thomas
10-5,2-0Summit League
Strong First Half Not Enough as Roos Fall to Tommies
12/31/2023 5:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kansas City came out flat in the second half dropped its Summit League road opener
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Despite a strong first half and an advantage on the boards, Kansas City Men's Basketball (6-9, 1-1 Summit) came out flat in the second half, falling to St. Thomas (10-5, 2-0 Summit), 77-56. The Roos led by as many as eight points late in the first half, but could not carry the momentum into the second, where they were outscored by 22 points.
It was an advantage on the offensive glass that allowed the Roos to build a lead, using 10 offensive rebounds and six second chance points while allowing the Tommies to just 10 rebounds total in the first half. Melvyn Ebonkoli led the charge, pulling down eight first half boards, six of which came on the offensive end.
The Roos' usual cast of scorers were kept quiet, as Cameron Faas and Jamar Brown combined for 2-of-12 shooting and five points. Instead, Babacar Diallo led the Roos' scoring efforts, dropping a season-high 10 points and pulling down six rebounds.
KEY MOMENTS | HIGHLIGHTS
- 1H - 16:14 / 6-5 | Ebonkoli got things going with the Roos' first two field goals of the game. Faas found him inside for his second bucket, putting Kansas City ahead for the first time.
- 1H - 10:57 / 17-13 | The Tommies took a slight lead, but Diallo was there to put the Roos ahead. First, Khristion Courseault found him on the left wing for a three-pointer and on the next possession Jayson Petty got him the ball for another triple that put the Roos ahead by four.
- 1H - 4:49 / 25-23 | Diallo dished to Faas, who found himself wide open for a three-pointer, his lone points of the game. The triple put Kansas City ahead, a lead that would remain for the rest of the first half.
- 1H - 2:24 / 33-25 | Brown pulled down an offensive rebound to keep the possession alive, and then Diallo found Yulian Ramirez-Montero for a free throw line jumper that capped an 11-2 run for the Roos and gave them their largest lead of the game. St. Thomas ended the half on a seven-point run, a sign of things to come in the second.
- 2H - 13:15 / 38-49 | St. Thomas used a 13-point run to open up a double-digit lead, which was finally brought to an end as Courseault drew a double team, finding a cutting Diallo for a dunk.
- 2H - 10:24 / 44-53 | Following a St. Thomas miss, Courseault pulled down a rebound and found a slashing Brown in the fast break, pulling the game back within single digits. From there, the Tommies used a 16-point run to put things out of reach.
- 2H - 1:49 / 52-74 | Malik Olafoye found Petty for a three-pointer in the game's waning moments, Kansas City's only three-point make in the second half.
STATS TO NOTE
- Despite the loss, the Roos were able to own a large rebounding advantage, 44-26. Most of that advantage came in the first half, where KC dominated the boards, 27-10.
- Ramirez-Montero continued to impress in his third game as a Roo, scoring nine points. Through three appearances, he is averaging 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
- Diallo reached or matched his season-high marks in all three major statistical categories. Ten points was his best of the year, eclipsing his mark of nine points against SEMO. Six rebounds and three assists both tied season-bests.
- Over half of Kansas City's scoring production - 36-of-56 points - came from non-starters. Courseault led KC's starters in scoring with six points.
UP NEXT
The Roos begin the New Year with the first iteration of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge, starting with a game at Sacramento State at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
