KC Roos have rough shooting night, lose at home to Texas Rio Grande Valley

The Kansas City Roos shot the ball poorly on Thursday night.

The result was a double-digit defeat at home: Texas Rio Grande Valley beat Kansas City 73-60 at Swinney Center.

With the loss, the Roos fell below .500 in Western Athletic Conference play at 4-5 and to .500 overall on the season at 12-12. Kansas City came into Thursday’s game on a three-game win streak.

The Vaqueros, who swept the regular-season series with Kansas City, improved to 8-14 overall and 4-5 in the WAC. Texas Rio Grande Valley also upended Kansas City 76-64 on Jan. 9 in Edinburg, Texas.

The Roos, who entered the game with a shooting percentage of 45.7 for the season, shot 39.6 percent from the field (21-53) on Thursday and made 6 of 19 three-pointers against the Vaqueros. Texas Rio Grande Valley made 21-40 shots from the field for 52.5 percent.

And Kansas City lost for the first time this season when out-rebounding the opponent (7-1). The Roos pulled in 28 rebounds to the Vaqueros’ 27.

Rob Whitfield led the Roos with 13 points. The Vaqueros’ Lesley Varner II had a game-high 23 points.

Things don’t get any easier for Kansas City: The Roos on Saturday at 7 p.m. will play host to first-place New Mexico State, which is 9-0 in conference and on a 12-game win streak.