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.

UMKC Starts Three-Game Home Stand With Coyotes Saturday

The 'Roos look to end a couple losing skids on Saturday when South Dakota comes to town to kick off a three-game home stand. The 'Roos have lost five in a row overall, and their last nine at home, while South Dakota comes in dropping 5-of-6, including a loss to UMKC. It will be the fourth ever meeting between the 'Roos and Coyotes, with all of the games in the last two seasons. The 'Roos grabbed their first victory in the series on January 12 in Vermillion, 90-86. They shot a school record 82.6 percent in the second half. At Swinney, Kansas City is 0-1, having lost by a 76-57 score there on January 7, 2012.

South Dakota comes into the game with an 8-15 overall record, and is 4-7 in the Summit League. It has dropped five of the last six games after playing the 'Roos the first time around. The lone win came at Oakland.

The Coyotes are led by Kansas State transfer Juevol Myles, who paces the squad in points (15.2 ppg), assists (65) and steals (33). Forward Trevor Gruis averages 11.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while Brandon Bos puts up 10.6 points a contest. They also have six players with at least 25 assists.

As a team the Coyotes average 71.2 points per contest to rank third in the league. They are the league's top free throw shooting team at 77.7 percent as well. Defensively, they give up 75.2 points a contest, ranking seventh.

Trinity Hall has been playing well since returning from injury. The junior forward had his second straight double-double, tallying a team-high 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds vs. Houston Baptist. It was the third double-double of his career.

Estan Tyler (.450) and Thomas Staton (.455) rank fourth and third in the league in three-point shooting,  respectively, while Fred Chatmon's 7.6 rebounds per game this season rank third in the Summit League. Chatmon also ranks fourth in blocks (1.2 bpg) while Tyler is sixth in assists (3.1 apg).

Kansas City continues its home swing with a contest against IPFW on Thursday at 7 p.m.

UMKC Shoots 82 Percent In Second Half To End Victory Drought, Defeat USD 90-86

UMKC set a school record by shooting 82.6 percent in the second half on Saturday night and snapped its losing streak with a 90-86 victory at South Dakota. Sophomore guard Estan Tyler also had a career night, scoring 25 points to lead the way.

The 'Roos (5-13, 2-4 SL) got their first road win in Summit League play since the conference opener at IPFW in December of 2011. They also defeated South Dakota (7-11, 3-3 SL) for the first time ever. The Kangaroos won their first game of the year after being behind at the half, and it was the largest deficit (9) they have overcome this season.

The opening half started quickly in favor of Kansas City, jumping out to a 14-9 lead in the first 4:21. The Coyotes cut it to one on two occasions over the next five minutes, but UMKC went on a 9-1 spurt to take its biggest lead of the half at 28-19, sparked by five points from Tyler.

USD quickly answered though, going on an 11-0 run to take a 33-28 lead. The Coyotes went up by as many as seven before the halftime, but Kansas City got an 80-foot three-point bomb from senior Thomas Staton at the buzzer to make it 41-37.

The 'Roos were led by Tyler, who had 11 at the half. As a team USD had seven points off turnovers, but UMKC had an 18-13 rebound edge, getting nine second-chance points.

South Dakota pushed its lead to as many as nine early in the second half, but Kansas City kept it close, and trailed by only six with 10:17 to play. That's when it went on a run. Three-pointers by Nate Rogers and Kirk Korver on back-to-back possessions tied the game, and started a 16-3 rally that put the 'Roos up for good. A layup by Tyler with 3:07 on the clock made it 81-72, and that virtually iced it.

Kansas City missed only four shots in the entire second half (19-of-23), and got 14 and 13 points from Tyler and Staton, respectively. Korver also tallied nine points in the half and the team drilled seven threes.

The 'Roos shot 61.1 percent from the field for the game, and hit a season-best 13 three-pointers. Kansas City also had a 16-to-8 assist-to-turnover ratio and a 28-20 rebound edge. Tyler's 25 points were the most for a Kangaroo this season, while Staton scored 19, Korver had 15, and Fred Chatmon put up 10.

USD was led by Juevol Myles with 24 points, while Brandon Bos tallied 19. USD shot 53.1 percent in the contest, and 57.9 percent from three.

Kansas City will continue its road swing on Thursday night when it faces Oakland in Rochester Hills, Michigan at 6:00 p.m. CT.