OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha outlasted North Dakota in a
back-and-forth affair on Saturday as the Mavericks posted an 83-75 victory in a
Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters tilt.
Fans at the new Ralston Arena were reminded of what was once a great North
Central Conference rivalry as the lead changed 20 times, including 17 in the
second half during the first matchup between the two teams at the Division I
level.
“I thought both teams played extremely hard, but I thought
our fatigue became a factor late and that cost us,” UND head coach Brian Jones
said. “Give (Omaha) credit though, they did a great job of creating second
shots. We would get the initial stop, but had trouble keeping them off the
offensive glass.”
Junior Troy Huff scored a game-high 21 points and classmate
Aaron Anderson added 19 points, but UND could manage just two points in the
closing five minutes of the contest.
Omaha's Justin Simmons finished with 20 points to lead the
Mavs and it was his 3-pointer with just under four minutes to play that tied the
game at 73-73. That trifecta sparked a 13-2 closing run by the Mavs, who have
now won five straight in the series.
Junior Jamal Webb added eight points for UND, but his two
free throws down the stretch were all the scoring UND could manage.
Alex Welhouse hit a back-breaking trey with 1:16 to play
that pushed UNO's lead to five at 80-75. That would provide the largest lead of
the half by either team as the teams were matching baskets at a furious pace.
Welhouse finished with 13 points as four different Mavs
finished in double figures. John Karhoff added a double-double with 17 points
and 10 rebounds.
UND's largest lead after halftime was at 55-51 following a
3-pointer by Huff. That was the sixth consecutive
make for UND from beyond the arc, but the Mavs would let the visitors get two more
3-point attempts off in the closing 15 minutes.
Huff had 14 first-half points and Anderson scored 12 in a
three-minute stretch late in the stanza that allowed UND to erase what was once
a 25-13 deficit and draw even at 41-41 by halftime.
UND was shooting 50 percent from the field (30-for-60)
before missing its final 10 shots. The Mavs were more efficient from the
charity stripe, making 18-of-24 attempts and that proved costly for UND, who
managed to make just 9-of-19 for the contest.
Karhoff's 10 rebounds helped UNO hold a slight 44-42 edge in
that category. Huff had seven reoubnds, all of which were on the offensive end.
Senior Mitch Wilmer paced UND with eight boards and added seven points.
UND will remain on the road and return to Big Sky play next week at Portland
State (Thursday) and Eastern Washington (Saturday).
-- UND --
