Kansas City
9-13,5-4Summit League
Omaha
7-15,3-7Summit League
Mukeba's Return Aids Roos in Win Over Mavericks
1/26/2023 10:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Shemarri Allen led all scorers with 20 and Allen David Mukeba Jr. dropped 15 on 7-of-8 shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a tough back-and-forth battle, Kansas City Men's Basketball (9-13, 5-4 Summit) came out with a 64-61 win over Omaha. Rebounds, defensive toughness and points in the paint were big factors for Kansas City. Timely free throws gave the Roos an edge late to secure the win.
Shemarri Allen gave the Roos a second half spark, putting up 20 hard-earned points. Allen was able to control the tempo late in the game, getting a string of easy buckets down the stretch. Solid minutes off the bench, a career-high-tying 15 points and six rebounds made Allen David Mukeba Jr. another notable player tonight, while Promise C. Idiaru led the team on the glass with eight rebounds.
The Roos' size allowed them to dominate the boards and the paint on both sides of the floor. Along with outstanding performances from Allen and Mukeba, the Roos scored 34 of their 64 points in the paint. KC capitalized on 18 offensive rebounds, scoring 20 second-chance points.
Back-to-back buckets from Mukeba late in the second half gave Kansas City a momentum swing and put them up by four with six minutes left. Clutch plays from Allen and RayQuawndis Mitchell ultimately gave the Roos an edge over Omaha down the stretch.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1H — 8:19 / 2-0 | Allen opened up scoring with a strong left-handed layup.
- 1H — 9:15 / 10-5 | Mitchell put the ball on the floor to get space for a close-range jumper.
- 1H — 1:43 / 21-23 | Tyler Andrews hit the first three-point bucket for the Roos off an assist from Allen.
- 1H — 0:00 / 23-25 | Babacar Diallo had a put-back to end the half off a missed three-point attempt from Andrews.
- 2H — 16:16 / 29-27 | Mukeba backed down a smaller defender for the two-handed dunk.
2H | Oh yeah, @h23_jr is back. pic.twitter.com/LarFbi5RJM
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 27, 2023
- 2H — 12:17 / 35-38 | The Roos capitalized on a steal from Idiaru with an Allen transition layup, assisted by Mukeba.
- 2H — 12:03 / 37-38 | Allen stole the ball and went end-to-end for the layup.
- 2H — 6:20 / 49-45 | Mukeba hit a contested three-point shot off an assist from Idiaru.
- 2H — 2:01 / 58-52 | Allen hit a mid-range jumper to beat the shot clock.
2H | @shemarriallen23 does these things. pic.twitter.com/x7SHmKuI4H
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) January 27, 2023
- 2H — 0:54 / 60-54 | Allen drives the lane for a vicious left-handed dunk.
STATS TO NOTE
- The Roos won the rebounding margin in the first half by 12 (28-16), grabbing 14 offensive-boards leading to 12 second-chance points.
- Both teams struggled shooting to start the game, with the Roos leading 6-3 going into the second media timeout.
- KC dominated inside, scoring 12-of-23 first half points in the paint.
- Omaha shot 38.5% from three in the first half giving them a two-point edge going into halftime.
- The Roos led for 14:40 of the first half with their largest lead being seven.
- Three Roos finished the game with double-digits: Allen with 20, Mukeba with 15 and Mitchell putting up 11.
- Shooting 85% from the line sealed the win for the Roos.
THE ROOS, QUOTED
Coach Marvin Menzies
"We put defense as an emphasis and rebounding as an emphasis because that can carry you through some games."
"We're in conference now. Conference is no joke man, you gotta lace 'em up against everybody and you gotta be ready to play… Conference is a different vibe, it's a different tone."
"It was actually amazing because I could fight with my brothers and that's all I wanted for these games. We had a couple of losses and a couple of wins, but what I missed was just being on the court with them and fighting with them."
UP NEXT
Saturday January 28, the Roos will return to the Swinney Center playing against Denver University with a 7:00 pm tip-off.
