KANSAS CITY, MO (UMKC Athletics) – The UMKC men’s basketball team (1-6) picked up its first win of the season against crosstown foe Avila (0-6), 94-58, on Saturday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium.
The Roos controlled the game from the 4:30 mark of the first half when they overcame a two-point deficit and closed the half on a 16-0 run with junior guard Xavier Bishop draining a buzzer beating three to give UMKC a 46-32 lead at the break. Bishop finished the contest as the game’s leading scorer with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-6 from the free throw line, while adding two rebounds and an assist.
UMKC dominated the game down low, out-rebounding the Eagles 45 to 25 and outscoring them in the paint, 36 to 12. Danny Dixon led the charge, as the redshirt junior forward notched a double-double with 14 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
In the second half, Avila cut the margin down to 11 on three separate occasions, but could get no closer as the lead quickly grew into the 20’s before the final horn sounded with the Roos prevailing 94-58.
For the Roos, Marvin Nesbitt Jr. filled the stat sheet, tallying career-highs of eight rebounds and six assists to go along with four steals and three points. Offensively, Rob Whitfield registered 15 points, with all 15 coming on three-point field goals, five assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block.
Jamel Allen and Brandon McKissic also reached double figures for the Roos with Allen posting 15 points, seven rebounds and a block and McKissic notching 13 points, three steals, two assists and two rebounds.
Richardson on the Roos:
“We finally got going in the last four of the first half. We closed out with good execution and the last second shot gave us momentum going into halftime. We got into a flow and our defense was able to create some offense to end the half. Our guys have batted and its nice for them to be rewarded with a win.”
Next Up
· UMKC begins a three-game road swing starting with South Dakota State on Wednesday, Nov. 28. Game time is 7 p.m. CT from Brookings, S.D.
Quick Hitters
· UMKC has won the two all-time meetings between the two clubs. The initial
victory was last year when the Roos won by 31 points.
· UMKC led for almost the entire contest, with the exception at 2-3 after Avila’s Shandon Boone knocked in a 3-pointer at the 17-minute mark and at 4:30 in the first half at 32-30 on a Boone layup.
· With a 46-32 half-time advantage, the Roos led at the half for the first time this year.
· Saturday, the Roos shot 57.4%. The previous season-high shooting percentage for the Roos was .500 in the loss against Morehead State on Nov. 16.
