Boxscore
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The UNO men's basketball team picked up its first road win of the season, posting a 98-93 victory at Missouri Western on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Mavericks improve to 6-4 (3-3 MIAA) on the year, while MWSU drops to 5-6 (3-3 MIAA). UNO is the only MIAA team to have defeated the Griffons in their home arena in league play over the two seasons, having also grabbed a 90-74 win on Feb. 10, 2010.
Junior guard Mitch Albers matched his season best of 25 points on 8-for-16 shooting, including 3-for-6 from long range and a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Senior guard Tyler Bullock also had 19 points, six assists and a block.
Senior guard Torrian Harris chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, while redshirt freshman John Karhoff tied his career best with 14 points of his own on 7-for-8 shooting, along with five rebounds and a pair of steals. Senior guard Jeff Martin was the fifth Maverick in double figures, finishing with 10 points on a trio of 3-pointers.
Nebraska-Omaha shot 58 percent as a team and put on a show in the paint, scoring 52 of their season-best 98 points inside. The Mavs held Missouri Western to 22 points in the paint.
MWSU had six players in double-figure scoring -- P'Allen Stinnett (18), Adrian Thomas (18), Jonathan Phelps (15), Deionta Mitchell (13), TJ Johnson (11) and Lavonte Douglas (10). Stinnett and Jeffrey West led the way on the boards, pulling down seven rebounds each.
The Mavericks enjoyed a 38-28 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the first half, but Missouri Western roared back on a late 15-0 run to regain the advantage. Albers popped in a final 3-pointer with six seconds to go, but the Griffons took a 43-41 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, UNO tied the game at 58-all with 14:22 left, as Martin hit a three. Back-to-back dunks by senior Matt Starks and Bullock made it 62-60, and another Martin triple stretched it to a seven-point lead.
Helped by nine second-half points by Johnson, the Griffons tied it up again at 72-72. But two buckets by Karhoff put the Mavs back on top, and they would not forfeit the lead again. Bullock poured in seven points in the last two minutes to help seal the deal, pushing UNO to the 95-93 victory.
The Mavs return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 5 against Truman and will seek their fourth straight conference victory. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse.
