Box Score (PDF/HTML)

OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's basketball team hosted its first conference home game Saturday afternoon, falling 95-72 to South Dakota at Ralston Arena. The Mavericks are now 3-12 (0-3 Summit League), while the Coyotes improve to 6-8 (2-1 Summit League).

Junior center John Karhoff led UNO with a season-high-tying 18 points and seven rebounds with five assists and a steal. Justin Simmons also finished with double figures with 13 points, and Alex Phillips put up 11 points of his own.

Senior guard Jacques Coleman added eight points off the bench with a 4-for-4 effort at the free throw line, and senior forward Alex Welhouse recorded seven points and four rebounds. Welhouse hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half, moving him into the top 10 in school history for career threes. He is now tied with Denny Johnston (125) for 10th.

USD was led by a double-double from Brandon Bos, who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds and shot 7-for-9 from the field. Eric Robertson had a season-high 15 points with a perfect 4-for-4 performance from 3-point range, and Casey Kasperbauer added 14 points with four treys to his credit.

As a team, Omaha shot 38 percent (28-of-74) from the floor to South Dakota's 58 percent (34-of-59). The Mavs finished at 29 percent (4-of-14) from beyond the arc, while USD shot 53 percent (11-of-21). UNO had its lowest turnover total of the season, committing just eight miscues as a squad while forcing 17 from the Coyotes.

South Dakota opened the game at 7-0 and never trailed, and a series of threes from Kasperbauer and Robertson and another bucket by Karim Rowson put the Coyotes up 29-13. USD used 63 percent (20-of-32) shooting from the field and seven 3-pointers as a team to build a 52-29 lead by halftime.

The second half saw UNO come out hot, shooting 8-of-9 early with the help of seven points from Phillips in the first five minutes. South Dakota then went on a 13-0 run and maintained a sizable lead for the remainder of the game, with their largest scoring margin at 86-56. The Coyotes went on to pick up their second conference win, 95-72.

Omaha returns to action on Monday, Dec. 31, hosting Kansas City. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on 1620 AM.