Spring Break
Men's Basketball
Kangaroos dominate Benedictine 91-58
Dan Stroud
Issue date: 11/6/06 Section: Sports
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Day, who hit only 27 percent of his shots in the first 20 minutes of action, scored a sizzling 11 points in the first four minutes of the second half. As a team, the Kangaroos hit 32 percent of their shots in the first half then slammed home 66.7 percent, including nine of 12 shots from the three-point stripe.
A lively crowd of 1,259 Kangaroo fans were on hand to cheer the men.
Head basketball coach Rich Zvosec was pleased with the team's performance as a whole, though acknowledged their first-half struggles.
"The guys came out and pressed a bit early," said Zvosec. "They got some good looks in the first half, but just weren't able to execute."
Day, a senior guard, felt good about the night's performance.
"This was our first game in a year and sometimes it's easy to get too pumped up," said Day. "We knew all we needed to do was relax and get the ball and everything else would work out."
Dominique "Domo" Rhodes, a freshman guard playing in his first college game, scored 11 second-half points, finishing his night with 13. He credited Day with helping him turn around what started out as a dismal performance by the former Lincoln Prep star.
"The first half wasn't me," said Johnson. "Pooh [Day] told me to just settle down out there."
Junior guard Tim Blackwell was yet another Kangaroo who felt the second-half burn as he netted nine of his 12 points during the final 20 minutes of action.
The evening saw 10 of the 11 active players score. Five players hit three-point shots led by Day's 5-8 shooting and Blackwell's 3-7 night from long range.
Benedictine stayed close to the Kangaroos early and finished the first half trailing 35-29. The Ravens were anchored by strong performances from 6-foot-8-inch center Dan VanDyke, who scored 12 points, and their leading scorer for the evening, junior guard Ronnie Tyson, who pitched in 13 points.
Size could not help but be a factor in the game as UMKC's starting five averaged 6-foot-6-inches and 218 pounds to Benedictine's 6-foot-2-inche and 195-pound average. This factor, not to mention UMKC's superior shooting and smothering second-half pressure, enabled the Kangaroos to pull away from the Ravens with the comfortable win.
Zvosec was pleased with the performance of several Kangaroos who saw action during the evening. He specifically called out sophomore center Alex Pledger, senior center Kyle Spears, junior forward Brent Stephens, and senior forward Blake Crawford for their selfless performance in providing energy for the team in the second half.
"If we can come out each game and improve as the season progresses, we should come out all right," said Zvosec.
The Kangaroos conclude exhibition play Tuesday evening against Park University in Municipal Auditorium at 7 p.m.
dstroud@unews.com
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