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OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's basketball team opened the Ralston Arena era in fine fashion Friday night, defeating Northern Illinois 77-64 in front of 2,224 fans. With the victory, the Mavericks begin the season with a record of 1-0 (0-0 Summit League), while the Huskies drop to 0-1 (0-0 MAC).

Sophomore guard CJ Carter led the way with 16 points, finishing 10-for-14 at the free throw line. Carter added two rebounds, five assists and three steals for the night.

Three other Mavericks finished with double-figure scoring: senior forward Alex Welhouse (13), junior center John Karhoff (12) and junior guard Justin Simmons (12). Karhoff chipped in a team-leading six boards.

Junior guard Alex Phillips contributed eight points in his Maverick debut, hitting a pair of threes and going 3-for-4 for the evening. Senior Jacques Coleman notched three rebounds, three points, an assist and a steal off the bench.

NIU was paced by 11 points from Aksel Bolin and 10 points from Daveon Balls, who was 2-for-2 from 3-point range. Keith Gray totaled a game-best seven rebounds, and Travon Baker grabbed a trio of steals.

As a team, Omaha shot 47 percent from the floor, while Northern Illinois had a 42 percent team effort. The Huskies outblocked UNO, 35-28.

The Mavericks opened the game with a strong 16-7 lead, but a pair of threes in an 11-2 NIU run helped the Huskies tie it at 18-all. Five straight points from Carter gave Omaha a 26-21 advantage, and the Mavs never surrendered their lead for the remainder of the half. Simmons chipped in another four points before halftime, including a dunk on the assist from Carter, and UNO took a narrow 33-32 advantage heading into the locker room.

Two veterans starred in the second half, with Welhouse posting 11 points and Karhoff adding 10 with four boards. In the second stanza, Carter, Karhoff and Welhouse each went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, while junior Caleb Steffensmeier was 2-for-2. The Mavericks outscored NIU 44-32, aided by a 16-for-17 team effort at the charity stripe.

Northern Illinois went up 36-33 with 18:52 remaining, but it would be their final lead of the game, as UNO quickly took over. A 9-0 run propelled the Mavericks to 48-38, though the Huskies threatened again at 12:58 with Akeem Springs' 3-pointer to make it a one-point game. Minutes later, a Karhoff layup spotted Omaha a double-figure lead at 61-50, and the Mavericks went on to take the 77-64 victory for their first win of the year.

Omaha returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 11, hosting Saint Mary. Gametime is slated for 6 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.