Complete Game Notes
Live Audio | Live Stats

The Mavericks will hit the road for their second game of the year as they play at Rockhurst Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Mason-Halpin Field House. Nebraska-Omaha is 1-0 after defeating Doane, 96-67 Sunday in the season opener. The Hawks will be playing their first game of the regular season.

Jeff Martin led the Mavs with 18 points against the Tigers and four other players also scored in double figures. Martin saw his first regular season action since the fifth game of last year when an injury forced him to get a medical redshirt. He averaged 9.6 points in those five games. Andrew Bridger, who scored 11 points with 11 assists in the opener against Doane, is UNO's leading returning scorer after averaging 11.5 points a game.

Rockhurst, an NCAA tournament team last year with a 19-11 record, returns top-scorer Aaron Hill. The senior guard averaged 20.0 points a game and was the Great Lakes Valley Conference player of the year.

Following The Mavericks
Fans can follow all the action this week on KVNO 90.7 FM or they can listen to the broadcast online at www.omavs.com/kvno. Fans can follow live stats at www.rockhurst.edu/bballstats.

Most games throughout the year will be available through KVNO 90.7 FM or KVNO 90.7-2 HD. Live video and live stats will be available for all home games and many away games. Fans can find links to all live video, audio and stats through www.omavs.com/mbb on the schedule page.

The Coaches
UNO head coach Derrin Hansen is in his fifth year at Nebraska-Omaha and overall as a head coach. He is 70-50 with a .583 winning percentage. His winning percentage ranks fourth all-time among UNO coaches with at least four years at the school. Hansen served as the assistant coach at UNO from 1998-2005 before taking over for the 2005-06 season.

Hansen is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan. He played for the Plainsmen and helped lead them to the Division III semifinal in 1987-88. He coached high school for two seasons after graduating and then spent two years at Nebraska-Kearney from 1993-95 as a graduate assistant and two years at Mid-Plains CC from 1995-98.

Rockhurst coach Bill O'Connor is in his 16th season as the Hawks head coach. He has a 222-208 (.516) record as he begins his 16th season. Last year he was named the GLVC coach of the year after leading RU to a 19-11 record and a second place finish in the West Division. The year before the Hawks finished just 12-15 and fifth in the West.

O'Connor is a 1972 graduate of Benedictine (Kan.). He also coached at Colby CC (Kan.) and Texas-Pan American and he served as an assistant at Rockhurst from 1982-86.

The Series
- This is the 24th meeting in the all-time series. Rockhurst leads, 12-11.
- The Hawks won the last meeting, 76-63 on November 18, 2006, at a tournament at St. Cloud State. Prior to that, the Mavericks won three straight in the series.
- The series began in 1953-54 and the two teams played nearly every year through the 1973-74 season.
- The two teams have never played an overtime game together.

Martin Continues Hot Shooting
Junior guard Jeff Martin has been making his baskets in streaks. He made his first five 3-pointers in the exhibition against Creighton and then he made his final six shots Sunday against Doane. His hot shooting was no surprise after he scored big in limited action last year and during his sophomore season at Nebraska-Kearney.

Martin missed his first five shots against Doane but finished 6-of-11 and 5-of-9 from 3-point range. He led the Mavs with 18 points in that game. Against Creighton, he was 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half. He gave the Mavs a five-point lead at 26-21 when he hit his third 3-pointer at 9:00 and then he gave them a six-point lead when he made another just 19 seconds later. He finished with 22 points.

Martin played in UNO's first five games last year before a broken ankle forced him to miss the rest of the season and get a medical redshirt. He averaged 9.6 points a game and shot 53 percent in those five games. He played his first two seasons at UNK and averaged 13.5 points a game his sophomore year as a full-time starter with the Lopers.

Bridger's Stats Well-Rounded After Opener
Head coach Derrin Hansen pointed out before the season started that Andrew Bridger will have to do more than just score baskets when he's running UNO's offense. The senior point guard has been able to shoot and draw fouls to score for UNO and he also has produced opportunities for the rest of his team with assists and steals.

Sunday against Doane he had a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. He was 4-of-9 from the field with three rebounds and a steal. He had a balanced game against Creighton with 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal. He got to the free throw line eight times and made all eight shots.
Bridger is UNO's leading returning scorer from last year. He averaged 11.5 points a game and shot 82 percent from the free throw line. Both of those totals were second best on the team last year. He led the team with 125 assists and he is currently seventh with 324 career assists. He needs four more to move to sixth and another season with at least 100 will move him into the top five.

Curry Perfect In Season-Opening Start
Senior forward Dion Curry started Sunday against Doane and went 5-for-5 from the field against the Tigers. All five of his shots came in the paint. He also pulled in three rebounds and blocked two shots in the game.

Curry, who started 24 of 28 games last year, came off the bench in the exhibition against Creighton. He made just one of his six field goal attempts for two points. He added two rebounds in 23 minutes.
Last year Curry scored 9.4 points a game with 5.4 rebounds.

Pair Of Transfers Start Season Opener
Junior guard Tyler Bullock scored 12 points against Creighton and junior forward Eugene Bain had 10. Bullock was 4-of-7 from the field while Bain was 4-of-9 with a team-high six rebounds. They both started in that game and then earned spots in Sunday's starting lineup against Doane.

Bain was 5-of-8 from the field Sunday with 12 points. He added 11 rebounds for a double-double and he also blocked two shots. Bullock was 3-of-4 from the field for six points and he had three rebounds.

Bullock is one of three Mavericks who was at Nebraska-Kearney before coming to UNO. He did not play for the Lopers but prior to that, he was a starter at Denver. He started all 29 games for the Division I Pioneers in 2006-07 and averaged 11.0 points a game. Bain played at North Platte Community College for two seasons and averaged 16.9 points a game and 11.2 rebounds last year. His rebound average was No. 10 in the nation and he earned NJCAA second team All-America.

Free Throws Keep Mavs In The Game
The Mavericks led the MIAA in free throw percentage last year and their performance from the line against Creighton showed that those shots are just important this year to coach Derrin Hansen. Last year his team shot .723 from the free throw line to edge Northwest Missouri.

The Mavs made 16 straight free throws to start the game against Creighton, including all 14 of their first half shots. They struggled after that but ended up making 69 percent (22 of 32) of their shots.

Andrew Bridger was 8-for-8 from the line in that game. Last year he made 82 percent of his free throws, second best on the team, and he's the top returning shooter from the line.

Sunday against Doane the Mavs shot just 55 percent from the free throw line. They shot that low just four times last year.

Coming Up
The Mavericks will host Peru State on Tuesday, November 24, at 7 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse. The two teams have met 28 times and UNO holds a 21-7 advantage in the series and has won 15 straight.