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OMAHA, Neb. – The UNO men's basketball team dropped an 83-80 overtime loss to future Summit League foe IPFW in front of a season-high crowd of 1,847 fans at Sapp Fieldhouse on Saturday night. With the loss, the Mavericks are now 4-7 on the year, while the Mastodons improve to 5-3 (1-1 Summit League).

Junior forward Alex Welhouse led the way with a career-high 24 points off five 3-pointers and also pulled down a game-leading eight rebounds with two assists. Senior guard Mitch Albers' also had a 20-point effort, totaling 21 points with five rebounds, three assists and a block.

Sophomore center John Karhoff also had a double-figure performance with 12 points, and freshman guard CJ Carter chipped in 10 more with six boards.

Additionally, sophomore guard Caleb Steffensmeier achieved a career-high 11 assists, marking the first time he has ever reached double figures in the category. Sophomore forward Matt Hagerbaumer added a career-best-tying three blocks and six rebounds.

IPFW was paced by Trey McCorkle, who had a game-leading 25 points with seven rebounds, three helpers, two blocks and a steal. Jonny Marlin contributed 13 points with four 3-pointers, and Joe Edwards had 10 points with seven boards. The Mavericks held IPFW's leading scorer, preseason all-conference pick Frank Gaines, to just seven points for the night.

Marlin opened the game with a 3-pointer in the first minute, but a Karhoff layup and Welhouse's first of his trio of first-half treys made it 5-3 UNO. The score stalled in a tie four more times to 14-14 before another Welhouse triple put the Mavs back in charge at 17-14. Hagerbaumer extended the lead to 19-14 with a layup, and a jumper from Freeman, coupled with a Welhouse three and a free throw from Albers, pushed it to 25-19.

Consecutive buckets by senior center John Ring gave UNO its largest lead of the half by 29-22, though Marlin's second straight 3-pointer then kept IPFW within four. Another Hagerbaumer layup made the tally 32-25, but the Mastodons cut the Mavs' advantage to 32-28 by halftime.

In the second half, Nebraska Omaha built a 15-point lead at 55-40 with 11:54 to go. Back-to-back threes by Edwards and Peckinpaugh brought the Mastodons within eight, but an Albers layup put UNO back up with a double-figure margin at 57-47. Nebraska Omaha still led by 10 at the 63-53 point at 6:24, but IPFW roared back with six points from McCorkle and another Marlin three to present a one-point ballgame.

The Mastodons then tied it on a Gaines free throw, and another layup from McCorkle made it 67-65, IPFW's first lead since 10:58 in the first half. Albers then banked in a layup and a charity shot of his own, putting UNO in front 68-67, but another Gaines free throw sent the game to overtime at 68-68.

Baskets from Welhouse and Albers helped the Mavs to a 72-70 advantage at 4:06 in overtime, but IPFW took control with a 12-6 run that resulted in a six-point advantage. A free throw from Karhoff kept it within five, but McCray sealed the game with a free throw of his own to make it 83-77. Carter hit a final 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it was not enough as the Mastodons took the 83-80 overtime victory.

UNO returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 15, hosting St. Mary's (Kan.). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse.