Double-OT defeat to North Dakota State marks KC Roos’ first home loss of season
The Kansas City Roos did not lose their first home game of the season without putting up quite the fight.
It took North Dakota State two overtimes to eventually drop the Roos 92-91 at Swinney Center on Thursday night in a Summit League game.
KC had been 6-0 on the season defending its home court. With the loss, the Roos fell to 7-11 overall and 2-1 in the Summit.
The Bison, meanwhile, improved to 8-9 (1-1) after having lost five straight games.
Roos guard Khristion Courseault scored seven points across the two overtimes and finished with 17 points to help keep Kansas City in it. He also had five assists for the game.
Jamar Brown scored a team-high 18 points for Kansas City on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Cameron Faas added 15 points and hauled in eight rebounds for the Roos.
The teams were knotted at 73-73 after regulation as the Roos outscored the Bison 42-37 in the second half to catch up.
The game was tied at 79-79 after the end of the first OT. North Dakota State’s Noah Feddersen, though, gave the Bison a quantum leap forward with two quick 3s at the start of the second overtime giving the Bison an 85-79 lead.
Kansas City continued to score and chase down North Dakota State, but the Bison made the free throws down the stretch for the hard-earned win.
Feddersen made 4 of 7 3-point shots and finished with 18 points. Boden Skunberg made 9 of 19 shots from the field for the Bison and ended up with a game-high 23 points. Skunberg also grabbed six rebounds and had five assists and a steal.
The two teams are set to square off again in Fargo on Feb. 8.
The Roos’ next game is set for Saturday at Swinney against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in another Summit League game.
KC Roos women’s basketball at North Dakota State
The Roos women suffered a similar result against North Dakota State on Thursday, this one in Fargo.
Kansas City held back the Bison for a 17-3 lead at the end of the first quarter, but North Dakota State stormed back and held on for a 63-60 victory.
North Dakota State did not waste time in recovering from its abysmal start: The Bison outscored the Roos 23-14 in the second quarter and grabbed the lead by the fourth quarter and then held on for the win.
Kansas City came in on a two-game win streak. The Roos are 9-9 overall and 0-3 in the Summit League. North Dakota State pushed its record to 8-7 (2-0).
Alayna Contreras paced the Roos with 15 points with four assists. Contreras scored six of her points with 2-of-3 shooting on 3-pointers. She dropped in 6 of 11 shots overall from the field.
Kansas City will be back in action on Saturday against North Dakota in Grand Forks.
