All five starters reached double figures, with
Jerry Bennett posting his seventh double-double of the season, as the University of Nebraska at Omaha upset No. 4 South Dakota in North Central Conference men's basketball action, 75-60, Saturday afternoon at Sapp Fieldhouse.
UNO improves to 18-4, 4-3 in NCC play, with its third win of the year over an opponent ranked in the top 10. The Coyotes fall to 19-2, 4-2.
Michael Jenkins led the Mavericks with 19 points, with 13 coming in the first half. UNO pulled ahead with a 9-0 run midway through the first half. A Jenkins jumper with 8:41 left tied the score at 19-19, then Jenkins scored on a layup for the lead. The Mavs would hang on to the lead the remainder of the game. The half ended with a 6-0 run by UNO, with Jenkins converting a three-point play, then
Tyler Albers hitting from beyond the arc as time expired. That made the score 43-29.
South Dakota opened the second half scoring seven straight points, narrowing the gap to seven. But the Coyotes go no closer. Bennett scored eight of his 12 points in the second half, adding a team-high 13 rebounds. As a team, UNO pulled down 41 boards, to 28 for USD.
Denny Johnston also scored 12, adding six rebounds.
Andrew Bridger scored 11 with eight assists.
Justin Petersen scored 10, including a highlight-reel dunk on an alley-oop pass from Bridger.
UNO, who began the week as the best free-throw shooting team in Division II converted all 11 of its tries. The Mavs shot 41.4 percent from the field. They allowed the Coyotes to shoot 44.9 percent, but forces 17 USD turnovers.
The Mavericks hit the road for two conference games next week, visiting St. Cloud State Thursday, then Minnesota State on Saturday. UNO's next home game will be Feb. 28 against Minnesota Duluth.
