Roos Bested by Coyotes in Regular Season Finale

Saturday, February 25

Vermillion, SD

7:00 PM

Kansas City

11-20,7-11Summit League

South Dakota

12-18,7-11Summit League

Kansas City

South Dakota

Photo by: Ryan Weaver Photography

Roos Bested by Coyotes in Regular Season Finale

2/25/2023 9:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Kansas City failed to find traction on the offensive side, losing in a meaningful finale matchup

VERMILLION, S.D. - In a battle for a first round bye at the upcoming Summit League Championships, Kansas City Men's Basketball (11-20, 7-11 Summit) could not find a groove against South Dakota (12-18, 7-11 Summit), falling in a 82-48 decision. The regular season finale loss drops the Roos behind the Coyotes in the Summit League standings, putting KC at the seventh seed entering postseason play.

The Roos could not find their footing offensively at any point during the game, committing seven turnovers in the first half and shooting 29.2% from the field in the second half. South Dakota led from wire-to-wire, handing the Roos their fifth-straight loss.

RayQuawndis Mitchell was the lone Kansas City player to reach double-digits, scoring 13 points in 34 minutes of play. Jeff Ngandu flirted with a double-double, dropping nine points and pulling down nine rebounds on the night.

KEY MOMENTS

1H - 15:42 / 4-8 | After a quick start by the Coyotes, Mitchell found an elevating Tyler Andrews for an alley oop that brought KC within four points. The Roos would get within a pair before South Dakota began to open up its lead.

1H | @rayquawndis to @tyylaaaa with the OOP ?? pic.twitter.com/rJWG7RFbiW
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) February 26, 2023

1H - 8:55 / 13-22 | South Dakota expanded the lead to 12, Mitchell's first three-pointer of the day brought the Roos back within nine. It was as close as KC would come for the rest of the game as the Coyotes went on an 8-2 run.
1H - 2:37 / 24-34 | Kansas City drew back within 10 on a put-back by Ngandu following a miss by Mitchell. The Roos held USD scoreless for the final 4:11 of the first half, but were unable to capitalize, only scoring four points in that span.
2H - 14:28 / 31-42 | Andrews stepped through the defense and pulled up for a jumper just outside of the paint. The Coyotes would respond by scoring the next six points and beginning to pull away.
2H - 11:26 / 33-48 | Andrews pulled up again for another jumper, giving him a total of nine points on the night. However, the Roos would fail to make a field goal for the next seven-plus minutes and South Dakota put the game out of reach.

STATS TO NOTE

Ngandu's nine-rebound performance tonight was his best since pulling down 17 boards against Western Illinois on Jan. 14.
Since losing Allen David Mukeba Jr. for the season on Feb. 9, the Roos are averaging 54.4 points per game.
The 34-point loss is KC's largest margin of defeat since falling to nationally-ranked Illinois early in the season.

UP NEXT
The Roos begin the postseason in Sioux Falls, S.D. at the Summit League Championships, where they will take on tenth-seeded Omaha on Friday at 8:30 p.m.