Kangaroos Complete Season Sweep Of Coyotes, 80-65

The UMKC men's basketball squad rolled to a season sweep of South Dakota on Saturday night, shooting 54.5 percent and taking an 80-65 win in front of a near sold out crowd at Swinney Recreation Center.

UMKC (7-19, 4-8 SL) moved into a tie with USD (8-16, 4-8 SL) for sixth place in the standings, just behind Omaha, who is ineligible for the league tournament.

Just like the last time they played, the 'Roos got open looks on offense due to good ball movement. They tallied 18 assists in the game, the most since the second game of the season against Lincoln (20). Nate Rogers tallied a career-best 17 points in the game, while Kirk Korver scored 15 against the Coyotes for the second time this season.

Kansas City worked inside-out though, with center Fred Chatmon matching his career-best with a game-high 20 points, and fellow post Brad Reid getting eight points, including a thunderous dunk in the first half. The 'Roos also used a 34-24 rebound edge, getting a career best seven from point guard Estan Tyler to go with his 14 points.

The Coyotes scored the game's first bucket, but Kansas City answered with the next nine points, including six from Reid inside. The 'Roos never trailed again.

UMKC built its lead to as many as eight in the first 10 minutes, but USD made a run to cut it to only a couple at the 6:42 mark. The 'Roos again came up big though, going on a 13-4 rally to make it an 11-point game with 4:09 before the break. They would cruise in with a 38-31 lead at the half.

The 'Roos had a 21-11 rebound edge, and shot 53.8 percent with five threes, while the Coyotes hit 44.8 percent.

The second stanza saw Kansas City light it up from long range, going 7-of-11 from three, and shooting 55.2 percent overall. USD would cut it to three points early in the half, but the 'Roos started hitting threes and making easy lay-ups inside due to some dishes and were up by 14 with 11:58 on the clock.

It was never single digits again, and UMKC led by as many as 17 before the end of the contest.

The 'Roos finished with 12 three-pointers, while USD hit only 4-of-16 from three. UMKC also had a 12-2 advantage in points off turnovers. Tyler dished out six assists, while Rogers had four in the contest. As a team the 'Roos also had only 10 turnovers.

The Coyotes were led by Trevor Gruis with 17 points, while Juevol Myles tallied 13.

Up next, Kansas City will host Fort Wayne on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. in Swinney Recreation Center.