Box Score (PDF/HTML)

DEKALB, Ill. – The UNO men's basketball team captured its first win over a fellow Division I opponent on Saturday, defeating Northern Illinois 77-72 at the NIU Convocation Center. With the victory, the Mavericks improve to 3-5 on the year, while the Huskies drop to 0-7.

“I thought we bounced back really well from our lackluster game against Washburn earlier this week,” Head Coach Derrin Hansen said. “I'm really proud of our guys and the intensity they showed on the road tonight. Getting our first Division I is special for our current players and everyone who has been involved with our program over the years. Also achieving this versus a team from the MAC, which is a strong basketball conference, is a point of pride.

“Mitch (Albers) got us going offensively early tonight, which took some pressure off of us. But as a group, I thought we really played well – starters and reserves, all the way through the second half, which allowed us to dig out a victory today.”

Senior guard Mitch Albers posted a game-high 26 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field with a 5-for-8 effort from behind the arc. Sophomore center John Karhoff added a career-high 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting, and sophomore guard Caleb Steffensmeier chipped in 11 points with a pair of threes. Junior forward Alex Welhouse led the Mavericks on the glass, pulling down a career-best 12 rebounds for the day.

Northern Illinois was topped by Tim Toler, who finished with 25 points with four 3-pointers, along with eight boards. Marquavese Ford also had a double-figure scoring effort, totaling 16 points.

As a team, UNO shot 52.9 percent (27-of-51) from the field while holding the Huskies to a 36.6 percent (26-for-71) effort. The Mavericks also committed a season-low nine turnovers and made a season-high 16 free throws, including nine in the final three minutes of the game.

Albers shined in the first half, totaling 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting. The senior was on fire from long range, going 5-for-7, which surpassed his 3-point total in the first seven games combined. Albers opened by going 6-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-5 in triples over the first 19 minutes, not missing a shot until 1:05 remained in the half.

Nebraska Omaha ran out to an early 13-4 lead, later pushed it to 19-6 on an Albers layup. Consecutive baskets by Steffensmeier, junior forward Bill Freeman and sophomore forward Matt Hagerbaumer helped UNO to a 27-17 advantage, but Northern Illinois went on a 9-0 run that left the Mavs with just a one-point margin.

After Toler's fourth 3-pointer made it 27-26, he dropped in another shot to give the Huskies the lead at 28-27 with just under five minutes left. Albers then went on a tear, making a trio of 3-pointers in a span of two minutes. His fifth trey of the half made it 38-33, but Toler drove in for a layup and Ford had a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game again. Despite seven first-half lead changes, the Mavs went to the locker room with a narrow 38-37 advantage.

The second stanza opened with Ford's three-point play to put NIU ahead, but freshman guard CJ Carter came back with a layup to make it 41-40 to UNO's advantage. Welhouse extended the tally to 43-40, and Ford dropped in a three to knot the score at 43-all. Steffensmeier then drew the foul from Ford and hit both charity shots, and back-to-back buckets from Karhoff and Carter pushed it to 49-43.

An 11-5 run capped by a trey from Steffensmeier gave the Mavs a 66-54 advantage with eight minutes remaining, but UNO was held scoreless for over three minutes, during which time NIU cut it to 68-65. The Mavericks then hit nine of 12 free throws in the final minutes, including seven from Albers. Northern Illinois got it to 75-72 with trey from Antone Christian at 0:14 and a layup by Ford at 0:03, but Albers was fouled by Ford and went on to hit both charity shots to seal the win at 77-72.

UNO returns to action tomorrow, traveling to national power Michigan State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT) at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.