Kansas City
15-15,9-6Summit League
Denver
15-15,6-9Summit League
Kansas City Hops Past Denver, Leaps to Second Place in The Summit
2/29/2024 11:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jamar Brown's 19-point, 11-board double-double led five Roos in double-digits
DENVER - As Roos do, Kansas City Men's Basketball (15-15, 9-6 Summit) made use of Leap Day 2024, jumping past Denver (15-15, 6-9 Summit) 84-69. The win extends Kansas City's winning streak to five-straight games, tied for the program's longest winning streak since 2004-05, when the Roos took down 11-straight opponents. In addition, KC has won three conference road games in a row for the first time since that same year.
It was an early second half run that propelled the Roos past the Pios following a tightly contested first half. A bucket by Jamar Brown gave KC a one-point lead going into the break and the Roos would never look back, extending the lead to eight before DU had a chance to get on the board in the second. The Roos outscored the Pios in points from turnovers, the paint, second chance, fast break and the bench, dominating DU in nearly all facets of the game.
Five Kansas City players reached double-figure scoring, led by Brown, the reigning Summit League Peak Performer of the Week, with a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double. Allen David Mukeba Jr. added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, and Tyler Andrews buried 15 of his own on 3-of-4 shooting from three. Khristion Courseault and Babacar Diallo both scored 11 to round out KC's double-figure scorers.
KEY MOMENTS | HIGHLIGHTS
- 1H - 13:40 / 7-8 | Denver jumped out by as many as six points early, but Mukeba rolled off a screen and received a dish from Courseault, rising above the rim through contact and throwing down a massive dunk. He converted the free throw to draw back within a point.
- 1H - 8:45 / 17-17 | After falling behind by four again, back-to-back buckets from Diallo and Mukeba tied things up for the first time since the game's start.
- 1H - 6:16 / 27-21 | Kansas City appeared to take command with a 10-1 run, using a pair of Andrews threes, along with buckets from Brown and Melvyn Ebonkoli. Denver responded by scoring eight-straight to reclaim the lead.
- 1H - 0:03 / 38-37 | Trailing by a point late in the half, Courseault launched a cross-court pass to a streaking Brown for a layup, entering the half with a lead.
- 2H - 17:25 / 45-37 | Kansas City opened the second half with seven-straight points, holding Denver's prolific offense scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the period. Courseault got into the paint and scored a second chance bucket to extend the lead to eight.
- 2H - 12:12 / 55-40 | The Roos took total control of the game with a 10-point run, forcing five turnovers in six possessions and scoring eight points in the paint.
- 2H - 5:11 / 73-54 | Quality ball movement led to an open three-pointer for Andrews that extended the lead to 17. On the next trip down the court, Brown found a wide-open Mukeba down low to give the Roos a game-high 19-point lead.
STATS TO NOTE
- Since 2004-05, this is the third five-game winning streak that Kansas City has gone on. The others came from Jan. 31-Feb. 18, 2017 and from Jan. 30-Feb. 20, 2021. The Roos have not won three-straight conference road games since notching six in-a-row in 2004-05.
- This is the second time that Kansas City has had five players score in double-digits this season, the first coming in an overtime loss to Brown on Nov. 25. The last time KC had five players reach 10 points in a regulation game against a Division One opponent was against Western Illinois on Feb. 5, 2022.
- The Roos were 23-of-25 from the charity stripe, the team's season-best free throw percentage (92.0%). It is the first time that KC has made 20-plus free throws on 90%-or-better shooting since a win against Kansas Christian on Nov. 17, 2021.
- Kansas City dominated down low, out-scoring the Pros 40-24 in the paint.
- Three of KC's double-digit scorers came off the bench, producing 41 bench points. That is the second-most bench points that the Roos have scored throughout conference play, trailing a 42-point night against NDSU on Jan. 11.
- Brown notched his seventh double-double of the year and secured a season-high tying 11 rebounds. He previously pulled down 11 boards in a double-double effort at Sacramento State on Jan. 3.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW
Coach Marvin Menzies
UP NEXT
Kansas City closes the regular season with a game at Oral Roberts at 2 p.m. on Sunday. A win would guarantee at least a share of second place in the Summit, which would be KC's best conference finish since 2014-15.
