St. Thomas visits UMKC after Gilyard's 33-point performance

Saint Thomas Tommies (8-12, 2-6 Summit) at UMKC Kangaroos (11-9, 6-4 Summit)

Kansas City, Missouri; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UMKC takes on the Saint Thomas Tommies after Evan Gilyard scored 33 points in UMKC's 83-75 victory over the Western Illinois Leathernecks.

The Kangaroos have gone 8-3 at home. UMKC is the top team in the Summit in team defense, allowing 65.7 points while holding opponents to 43.9% shooting.

The Tommies are 2-6 against Summit opponents. St. Thomas is third in the Summit shooting 38.0% from downtown. Parker Bjorklund leads the Tommies shooting 66.7% from 3-point range.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Gilyard is averaging 15.9 points for the Kangaroos. Arkel Lamar is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for UMKC.

Anders Nelson is averaging 15.9 points and 3.2 assists for the Tommies. Riley Miller is averaging 14.4 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 39.0% over the last 10 games for St. Thomas.

LAST 10 GAMES: Kangaroos: 7-3, averaging 69.8 points, 25.9 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 7.1 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.0 points per game.

Tommies: 4-6, averaging 70.2 points, 24.4 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 5.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 42.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.1 points.

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