ORLANDO, Fla. --
Ryan Curtis scored 19 points and
Chris DeSpain 17 to lead the Mavericks to an 89-75 season-opening win over Presbyterian Friday night in the opening round of the Disney Tip-Off Classic. UNO will face Southern Indiana Saturday night at 7:30 CST in the semifinal game.
Curtis, a 6-7 senior forward from Omaha, connected on 8 of his 10 shots and DeSpain, a 6-8 senior center from Omaha, on 7 of his 10 as the Mavs shot 57 percent from the field.
Calvin Kapels, a 6-4 senior guard from Columbus, Neb., hit 5 of his 7 shots for 14 points.
"We were able to go inside on them and score," first-year head coach
Derrin Hansen said. "It really was a total team effort. No one played more than 26 minutes, which is good with a three-game, three-day tournament."
UNO never trailed in the game, pulling away after three early ties against the Blue Hose, and led 42-31 at halftime.
The Mavericks pulled out front by as many as 24 points, 80-56, in the second half.
Junior guard
Zac Robinson and freshman wing
Michael Jenkins each added eight points. Senior wing
Quantel Murphy led the Mavs with seven rebounds.
"Chris (DeSpain) really hurt them inside, I thought," Hansen said. "They just didn't have an answer for him."
Southern Indiana, ranked No. 9 in pre-season polls, was an 88-71 winner over Caldwell Friday night.
