Kansas City
11-18,3-11Summit League
South Dakota State
19-10,10-4Summit League
Roos Fall in Final Moments of Contest at South Dakota State
2/23/2025 3:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KC was led by Jamar Brown's 21 points and nine rebounds
BROOKINGS, S.D. - Kansas City Men's Basketball (11-17, 3-10 Summit) lost yet another heart-breaker this afternoon in Brookings, falling short at South Dakota State (18-10, 9-4 Summit), 70-65. The Roos looked to be in control of the game late in the second half, but an eight-point run by the Jackrabbits allowed them to take control and close out the game.
The Roos took advantage of SDSU defensively, forcing 10 turnovers. Babacar Diallo and Jamar Brown each nabbed three steals to lead the Roos, converting the takeaways into 11 points off turnovers. In a day where the Roos only took four free throw attempts, they stayed in the game from beyond the arc, shooting 11-of-26 from three.
Brown led KC with 21 points and nine rebounds, knocking down five three-pointers en route to his eighth 20-point performance of the season. Diallo was the Roos' second-leading scorer, going for 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting and tallying seven assists. Davontae Hall played a conference season-high 28 minutes and was on the floor for the entirety of the second half.
KEY MOMENTS | HIGHLIGHTS
- 1H - 18:08 / 6-3 | Brown and Cameron Faas hit back-to-back threes in the early going to give Kansas City a lead.
- 1H - 11:47 / 14-14 | Hall provided an early spark, hitting a three to tie the game up and sending the Roos into the second media timeout of the day after drawing a charge on the other end.
- 1H - 5:08 / 22-25 | Back-to-back Diallo buckets got Kansas City within three points.
- 1H - 2:05 / 28-30 | After the Jackrabbits went up by as many as eight, a three from the wing by Ring Nyeri helped the Roos enter the half down by just two.
- 2H - 15:18 / 44-40 | Hall came up with a steal and found a driving Diallo in transition, capping a seven-point run that gave the Roos the lead for the majority of the second half.
- 2H - 8:02 / 54-50 | Diallo drove the baseline, finessing a shot over the outstretched arm of SDSU's Oscar Cluff to take the Roos into the under-eight timeout with a lead.
- 2H - 5:25 / 59-52 | After a pair of Jackrabbit free throws riled the crowd up, Brown nailed a three-pointer to silence the home fans and give the Roos their largest lead of the game. SDSU responded with an eight-point run to go ahead.
- 2H - 1:09 / 64-64 | Hall tied things up with a reverse layup, but SDSU responded with four-straight and closed the game out from the free throw line.
STATS TO NOTE
- Brown has scored 20-plus points in eight games this year, including three of the last five contests. On his Kansas City career, he has tallied 14 games of 20-plus point scoring.
- Diallo and Hall accounted for a combined 13 of Kansas City's 14 total assists on the day.
- The Roos shot just four free throws on the day, all of which came in the game's final two minutes. It is the third time this season that KC has attempted four-or-fewer free throws, something that had occurred just once in the program's previous 19 seasons, according to Sports Reference.
- KC knocked down 11 shots from long range, the 13th game this year with double-digit three-point makes.
UP NEXT
The Roos are back in action for a Senior Night contest against Denver at the Swinney Center on Thursday evening.
