Kansas City
13-19,4-12Summit League
Oral Roberts
7-23,3-13Summit League
Roos Set Program Postseason Margin of Victory Record in Drubbing of Oral Roberts
3/5/2025 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jamar Brown dropped 24 points in the win, setting up a quarterfinal meeting with #1 Omaha
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - For the first time since 2017, Kansas City Men's Basketball (13-19, 4-12 Summit) has a postseason win, taking down #9 Oral Roberts (7-23, 3-13 Summit) in the First Round of the Summit League Tournament, 73-56, this evening. The Roos' last conference tournament win came when KC was still a member of the Western Athletic Conference, a quarterfinal victory over UTRGV on Mar. 9, 2017.
After a slow start, Jamar Brown was a spark plug for Kansas City. He scored 19 first half points, including 14-straight at one point, to take the Roos into the break with a six-point advantage. The Roos opened up the floodgates in the second stanza, shooting 59.3% from the field and scoring 44 points.
Brown finished the night with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, his third 20-point showing in the last four games. Jayson Petty and Cameron Faas poured it in in the second half, finishing with 18 and 15 points, respectively. Babacar Diallo facilitated the offense, going for a career-high nine assists.
KEY MOMENTS | HIGHLIGHTS
- 1H - 12:40 / 6-10 | Coming out of the first media timeout, Faas came up with a steal on the defensive end and went all the way to the hoop for an easy two.
- 1H - 8:15 / 21-15 | Brown caught fire, sidestepping a defender and nailing his third three-pointer of the half.
Jamar's getting hot ??#ROOUP | @TheSummitLeague | @MidcoSports pic.twitter.com/HPWsDkrfak
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) March 6, 2025
- 1H - 3:11 / 26-19 | After the final media timeout of the first frame, Brown drove to the lane and knocked down a hook shot to give him 16 points on the half.
- 1H - 0:00 / 29-23 | Kansas City held strong for a defensive stop in the final 12 seconds of the half, entering the break up by six.
- 2H - 15:23 / 37-27 | Brown pulled down a Petty miss, finishing through contact for an and-one that put Kansas City up by double digits.
- 2H -11:33 / 46-32 | Brown found Petty on the wing for a knock-down triple, his first of two threes on the game.
- 2H - 7:03 / 56-39 | Melvyn Ebonkoli went through contact for his second and-one opportunity of the night, giving the Roos a 17-point edge.
- 2H - 0:44 / 73-54 | Ring Nyeri found Josh Ijeh for a dunk in transition, putting the cherry on top of a Kansas City win.
STATS TO NOTE
- Brown notched Kansas City's first 20-point postseason game since Tyler Andrews went for 20 against Omaha on Mar. 3, 2023.
- Ebonkoli dropped a near double-double, finishing with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- Diallo's nine assists are a Kansas City postseason program record, besting the previous mark of seven that had been reached four times before.
- Kansas City's 17-point margin of victory is the largest in program postseason history, eclipsing a previous best mark of 13.
- The Roos had not won a Summit League postseason game since 2007, KC's first stint in the league.
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
Head Coach Marvin Menzies/Jamar Brown/Cameron Faas
UP NEXT
The Roos are set for a meeting with top-seeded Omaha in the Summit League Quarterfinals at 6 p.m. tomorrow. The Mavericks took both of the regular season meetings over KC.
