UMKC rebounds with comfortable win against Haskell
The men’s basketball team from UMKC got back at it on Sunday, Nov. 12, less than 48 hours after suffering their first defeat of the season at the hands of No.7/8 Wichita State. The results were much kinder to the Roos this time.
Coming off a tough road loss to start the season at Wichita State, Sunday’s game against NAIA school Haskell represented an opportunity to right the ship for the men’s basketball team at UMKC. The Roos didn’t waste it, claiming a 110-59 victory in their home opener.
The Roos, now 1-1 on the season overall, got back to the style of basketball that they intend to play all season. UMKC forced 28 turnovers, converting that defensive execution into 56 points in the paint and 29 fast break points. Roos head coach Kareem Richardson spoke to the improved execution as compared to Friday night against the Shockers.
"“It’s definitely inflated [the points in the paint and fast break points] for sure, if we could do that consistently, I’ll definitely take that. We’re going to have that type of pressure going in every game and that was one of the things from a defensive end Friday night that we didn’t do very well. Our rotations weren’t very good out of our pressing but we did a much better job of that tonight.”"
Just two games into the 2017-18 season, and with a total of six freshmen on the roster, it’s still too early to get a good feel for what this team will be. The Roos have faced about as diverse levels of competition as is possible in a two-game stretch, going from facing a top-10 program on the road to hosting a 1-6 NAIA program. Richardson identified what he believes is developing into a consistent part of UMKC’s game.
"“I know our guys will compete. I know that will be consistent. I know if you look at the scoreboard Friday night at Wichita State we got beat pretty good but our guys went back and watched film, our guys competed. We did some things on the offensive end that wasn’t what we had been practicing. We did a lot of things that weren’t necessarily because of Wichita State. Our emphasis tonight was to get back, especially on the offensive end, of doing the things we talk about doing no matter who we’re playing, but consistently our guys will compete for sure.”"
Leading the Roos in scoring for the game was sophomore forward Jordan Giles with 21 points, which is a new career high for him. Sophomore guard Xavier Bishop contributed 18 points, as did junior center Mo Ahmed. Sophomore guard Isaiah Ross and freshman guard Marvin Nesbit Jr. also scored in double figures with 10 and 11 respectively.
Senior guard Broderick Robinson led the team in rebounds with seven, while Nesbitt Jr. paced the squad with five assists as well as six steals to lead in that category as well. As a team, UMKC shot just under 51 percent, including 30 percent from 3-point range. The Roos outrebounded Haskell 49-42 for the game.
Giles spoke about his career-best performance and his expectations for the rest of the season.
"“I feel like this game was just being aggressive. We had a bad loss at Wichita State so we needed to redeem ourselves. I think that I didn’t do as well as I could that game. I knew that I had to prove something when I came out.”"
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UMKC hits the road again on Tuesday, Nov. 14, facing the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan. If the Roos can replicate more of Sunday’s performance and avoid much of the struggles that plagued them on Friday night, a happy trip back to Kansas City could be in their future.