The Kansas City Roos men’s basketball team was outmatched by the Omaha Mavericks on Wednesday night, losing 66-78.
Kansas City now ranks eighth in the Summit League standings. Its record in the conference is now 3-10.
Omaha senior forward Marquel Sutton led the way for the Mavericks with a 22-point effort.
The offense for Kansas City was very stagnant throughout the game, especially in the first half. Omaha’s defense made it tough for Kansas City, as the Mavericks forced the Roos to commit 14 turnovers.
Head coach Marvin Menzies showed his frustration after the game. He called out the team’s ability to take care of the ball and competitiveness.
“I don’t know how we can start off a game with 10 turnovers at home,” said Menzies. “We have a lot of guys with competitiveness in them, but they can’t sustain it.”
Even though Kansas City led in rebounds and had 9 blocks as a team, it just couldn’t keep up with the scoring from Omaha in the second half of the game.
Senior guard Jamar Brown played a good game. He scored 17 points and shot 66% from the three point line.
Senior forward Melvyn Ebonkoli also played well, despite being in some foul trouble. Ebonkoli finished with 13 points and shot 62% from the field.
Graduate guard Babacar Diallo also was among the few that played well. Diallo finished with 13 points.
With the season coming to an end, Coach Menzies just wants to finish out strong, and get prepared for the tournament in South Dakota.
“We just have to find our groove right before we go play in the tournament,” said Menzies. “We’ve had a lot of close battles this year, but the guys still believe.”
No players were available for comment after the game.
The Roos’ final home game is on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Show up early to watch the Senior Day celebration.
Tickets can be found at this link.
