The University of Nebraska-Omaha men's basketball team kicked off the new year with a 78-57 nonconference win over Doane College Friday night at Sapp Fieldhouse.
The No. 18-ranked Mavericks improve to 12-1 with their fifth win in a row, while the Tigers fall to 6-8.
After establishing a 13-point lead at 27-14 with 8:13 left in the first half, UNO went more than five minutes without a field goal, allowing the Tigers to draw within two points at 28-26. A 3-pointer by
Nate Owen got things rolling for the Mavs, and a big dunk by
Justin Petersen put an exclamation point on UNO's 11-1 run to close out the half, giving the Mavs a 39-27 halftime lead.
UNO stayed settled in for the second half, shooting 56.5 percent, and never letting the lead fall back into single digits.
Five Mavericks players finished in double figures in scoring, led by
Jerry Bennett with 16. He added four rebounds and four blocked shots.
Denny Johnston had 12 points,
Michael Jenkins and
Tyler Albers scored 11 each, and
Andrew Bridger added 10. Petersen finished with nine. Jenkins was the leading rebounder with seven, as seven players collected four or more boards.
Tyler Cyboron led the Tigers with 12 points, while Kolby Hamilton had 10 rebounds.
UNO returns to action Thursday night, opening the final season of North Central Conference play, against Augustana. The women will start the action at 6 p.m., with the men to follow at approximately 8 p.m.
