ST. CLOUD, Minn. --
Michael Jenkins rewrote his personal record book for the second night in a row, dropping 35 points, to lead the University of Nebraska-Omaha men's basketball team to an 86-71 victory over Bemidji State, Saturday night at the American Family Hoopster Classic at St. Cloud State.
UNO starts the season 2-0 for the first time in three years, while the Beavers fall to 0-2 after losing to the host Huskies on Friday.
One night after scoring a career-high 29 points in the Mavs' win over Mary, Jenkins scored 26 in the first half against Bemidji State, also grabbing seven rebounds, to lead the Mavericks to a 41-34 lead at the break. Jenkins would go on to finish with a career-high 11 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double, also adding three steals and four assists. He also set career highs for field goals in a game (nine), 3-pointers (four), and tied his record for free throws with 13, on 14 attempts.
UNO opened the second half on a 6-2 run to open the lead up to 11 points, at 47-36, but over the next three minutes the Beavers went on an 11-2 and would go on to tie the game at 54-54 with 13:35 remaining. A three-point play by
Andrew Bridger put the Mavericks back on top. A dunk by Alex Smith, who led Bemidji State with 25 points, made it a one-point game, but from there, the UNO offense got red-hot. The Mavs scored 13 straight points to open a 21-1 run, giving UNO an insurmountable 21-point lead with less than seven minutes to play.
Denny Johnston tied Jenkins for the team lead in rebounds with 11.
Mitch Albers finished with 14 points, adding five rebounds, while
Tyler Albers scored nine. Bridger finished with 10 points and four assists.
The Mavericks return home next weekend for the annual Thanksgiving Classic. UNO will take on Colorado State-Pueblo Friday, then Montana State-Billings on Saturday.
