KC Roos open Summit League portion of season with rare home win against Oral Roberts

The Kansas City Roos men’s basketball team picked up its sixth win of the season to open the Summit League portion of its season on Friday night at Swinney Center.

The Roos (6-8, 1-0 Summit) jumped out to an early lead and then held it to beat reigning conference champion Oral Roberts 77-60.

The Roos are undefeated on their home court after recording their first home victory over the Golden Eagles (5-7, 0-1) since 2005.

Before the under-eight first-half media timeout, KC held Oral Roberts to 4-of-16 shooting and forced six turnovers, building a double-digit lead. Oral Roberts committed 14 turnovers, five above its season average.

Jamar Brown finished with a game-high 22 points, making 10 of 18 shots for his second 20-plus-point performance of the year. He also pulled down 10 rebounds, marking his third double-double of the season.

Melvyn Ebonkoli, Cameron Faas and Yulian Ramirez-Montero also scored in double-digits, while Khristion Courseault recorded 12 assists.

Women: Oral Roberts 76, KC Roos 61

The Roos were undone by a slow start in their Summit League opener at Tulsa on Friday.

The Roos (7-7, 0-1 Summit) had a big third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overcome host Oral Roberts (8-4, 1-0).

A strong performance from Dominique Phillips helped keep the Roos in the game early. She scored eight of KC’s 13 first-quarter points and finished with 13.

Emani Bennett led the Roos with 15 points and Ifunanya Nwachukwu scored 10 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.

This story was originally published December 30, 2023 at 12:05 AM.