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OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's basketball team powered its way to its first Summit League win in school history on Monday night, defeating Kansas City 77-65 at Ralston Arena. With the victory, the Mavericks improve to 4-12 (1-3 Summit League), while the Kangaroos drop to 4-10 (1-2 Summit League).

Sophomore guard CJ Carter led all scorers with a career-high 26 points with four rebounds and four assists. He shot 10-of-12 from the floor with a pair of threes and was a perfect 4-of-4.

Junior guard Justin Simmons joined Carter with a 20-point performance on five 3-pointers, the most threes made by any individual Maverick this season. Simmons added three rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.

Senior forward Alex Welhouse achieved the first double-double of his career, totaling 10 points and 10 rebounds. He was 4-of-6 from the field with a pair of threes, moving into sole possession of 10th in school history for career 3-pointers.

As a team, Omaha shot 48 percent (28-of-58) from the field and 46 percent (10-of-22) from 3-point range. UMKC finished at a 45 percent (26-of-58) clip and 16 percent (3-of-19) from beyond the arc.

Kansas City was led by 23 points and seven rebounds from Thomas Staton, as well as 12 points from Estan Tyler and 10 from Nelson Kirksey. Fred Chatmon topped the 'Roos on the glass with eight rebounds, as well as seven points and two steals.

The Mavericks shined from 3-point range in the first half, hitting eight threes as a team. UNO made its first four 3-point attempts, including a pair from Welhouse, and took an early 18-9 lead. Omaha doubled its lead by 34-17 on back-to-back threes from Simmons, then continued its 15-0 run with buckets from freshman guard Marcus Tyus and junior center John Karhoff to stretch the advantage to 43-17. Chatmon broke up the Mavs' surge with the last two baskets of the half, but UNO held a 43-21 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Mavericks came out strong in the second half, making their first five shots to go up 57-36. Kansas City later scored 10 unanswered points to cut it to a 12-point margin, but UNO regained control with a pair of Simmons free throws and a basket from Karhoff. With six minutes remaining, Omaha forced a pair of turnovers and Carter put up a pair of layups, spotting the Mavs a 68-49 advantage. Carter added another six points in the closing minutes, helping UNO earn its first conference win by a final tally of 77-65.

Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 3, traveling to Oakland.  Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT) at Athletics Center O'Rena in Rochester, Mich., and the game will be broadcast live on 1620 AM. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.