Kansas City Roos lose heartbreaker against Oral Roberts in Summit League showdown

The Kansas City Roos men’s basketball team had a golden opportunity to notch a big Summit League road win on Saturday night.

Max Abmas had other ideas. Something like 35 of them. Most importantly, he had the final one.

Abmas made a three-pointer at the buzzer for Oral Roberts and the Roos lost to the Golden Eagles 74-71 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Abmas finished with 35 points. His game-winner followed a Shemarri Allen’s three for the Roos that tied the game 71-71 with 2 seconds left on the clock.

The Roos had led much of the game, including 37-30 at halftime.

With the loss, Kansas City stands at 2-2 in conference and 6-11 overall. Oral Roberts, meanwhile, improved to 4-0 in the Summit and 13-3 overall.

RayQuawndis Mitchell made 5 of 12 three-pointers and finished with 23 points for Kansas City.

The Roos had only nine shots at the free-throw line and made five of them. The Golden Eagles, on the other hand, got to the free-throw line often. They made 17 of 24 free throws, including an 11-of-11 mark from Abmas, who came in as the Summit League’s leading scorer at 19.7 points per game.

The Roos’ Mitchell (17.9 ppg) and Allen (17.0) entered Saturday’s game as the second and third leading scorers in the conference.

Mitchell’s 23 points made for his sixth game with 20 or more this season. Allen dropped in 11 points.

The Roos are set to return to the court with a home game at Swinney Center against St. Thomas on Thursday.

Roos women get win over Oral Roberts

The Kansas City Roos women earned their first Summit League victory of the season. The Roos held court at Swinney Center with a 65-54 win over Oral Roberts on Saturday.

The victory snapped the Roos’ four-game losing streak. KC is 5-11 overall, 1-4 in conference. Oral Roberts stands at 5-11, 2-3.

Rain Green led the way for the Roos with a game-high 20 points. She also had five rebounds, six assists and four steals, in addition to six turnovers.

E’Lease Stafford, who is from Lawrence, dropped in 18 points with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals for Kansas City. She also committed five turnovers.

Manna Mensah had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Roos. Kansas City out-rebounded Oral Roberts 49-41.

The Roos are set to take on St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on Thursday.

This story was originally published January 7, 2023 at 10:45 PM.