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OMAHA, Neb. – With all five Maverick starters scoring in double figures, the UNO men's basketball team locked up an 87-65 win over Saint Mary (Kan.) Thursday night at Sapp Fieldhouse. With the win, the Mavs improve to 5-7 on the year, while USM drops to 9-4 (2-2 KCAC).

Senior guard Mitch Albers led the way with 17 points and a trio of 3-pointers, which moved him up to seventh in school history for career threes. Sophomore center John Karhoff added 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field with six rebounds, and freshman guard CJ Carter chipped in 12 points of his own. Junior forward Alex Welhouse accounted 11 points and a game-leading seven rebounds, a total that was also matched by sophomore guard Caleb Steffensmeier, who finished with 10 points, a career-high seven boards and eight assists.

The Spires were led by three players with double-figure scoring – Reggie Davis (16), Jordan Wilcox (11) and Kevin Harvey (10). All of Harvey's 10 points  came in the second half, helped by three 3-pointers. USM's leaders on the glass were Davis and Greenberg, who had six rebounds each.

As a team, Nebraska Omaha shot 52.3 percent from the floor while holding Saint Mary to a 33.3 percent shooting effort. UNO also had 50 of its points in the paint, while USM finished with 16 inside.

In the first half, UNO rattled off a 10-0 run to take a 17-8 lead six minutes into the game. Added by 10 points apiece from Karhoff and Carter, the Mavs went up by as much as 17, as Carter threw down back-to-back fastbreak dunks at 27-10. With 3:26 remaining in the half, the Spires cut it to a 37-33 margin with a three from Wilcox, but the Mavericks held USM scoreless for the remainder of the time to go up 42-33 by halftime.

Albers, who had just two points in the first half, hit a surge in the second stanza, accounting for 15 points with 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc. UNO took its largest lead of the game with nine unanswered points, capped by Carter hitting a pair of free throws to make it 81-59. Wilcox added five more points in the next minute, but baskets from freshman guard Mitchell Farr, junior guard Jacques Coleman and sophomore forward Matt Hagerbaumer went on to seal the victory at 87-65.

UNO returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 17, traveling to Milwaukee. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee, Wis.