Roos get it done against Chicago State for third straight victory

The Kansas City Roos took care of business in the their last game of the season. On Senior Night.

The Roos rolled to a 80-58 victory over last-place Chicago State on Saturday night at Swinney Center.

It was KC’s third straight win, and it pushed the team’s record back above .500 at 15-14, and to .500 in Western Athletic Conference play at 7-7. Chicago State, meanwhile, lost its 19th straight and stands at 4-25 overall and 0-14 in the WAC.

All four of the Roos’ seniors contributed to the win: Javan White scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds; Rob Whitfield came through with 11 points and three steals; and Jahshire Hardnett and Jordan Giles each chipped in with seven points.

Ke’Sean Davis scored a game-high 18 points for Chicago State.

The Roos, who had not played since a Feb. 19 home victory over California Baptist, looked a little rusty in the start of this one and fell behind early. But the Roos were able to right ship and established control in the last 8 minutes of the first half and rolled from there.

Both teams shot the ball well: Kansas City made 28 of 56 shots from the field (50%), and the Cougars made 17 of 35 of their shots from the field (48.6%). But the Roos got so many more shots off, many of them off of Chicago State turnovers. KC scored 31 points off turnovers to Chicago State’s 10. And the Roos had 12 second-chance points to the Cougars’ five.

Kansas City is set to play at Utah Valley on Thursday and at Seattle next Saturday. They are the last two games of the regular season. The WAC tournament starts March 12 in Las Vegas.