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MACOMB, Ill. – The Nebraska Omaha men's basketball team completed its first full season of Division I play on Wednesday night, falling 72-51 to future Summit League foe Western Illinois at Western Hall. The Mavericks finished the year at 11-18, while WIU moves on to the conference tournament with a record of 16-13 (9-9 Summit League).

Senior guard Mitch Albers led UNO with 13 points and added three rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. The Papillion, Neb., native capped his career at second in school history for scoring with 1,790 points, just 26 shy of all-time scoring leader Dean Thompson's record of 1,816.

Sophomore center John Karhoff totaled eight points and a team-leading six rebounds for the night, while junior forward Alex Welhouse added six points and matched Karhoff with another six boards. Sophomore guard Caleb Steffensmeier also had five points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal to his credit.

WIU was led by Terell Parks, who had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds in the Leathernecks' final game of the regular season. Obi Emegano (18 points) and Jack Houpt (15) also finished with double-figure scoring, with Houpt hitting five 3-pointers for the night. Ceola Clark added nine points, all on threes.

As a team, Western Illinois shot 53 percent (31-of-58) to UNO's 33 percent (19-of-57) from the field. The Leathernecks made nearly 60 percent of their shots in the second stanza, aided by a 5-for-7 effort from Emegano.

Albers opened the game by burying a three, but WIU's Tommie Tyler came back with a trey of his own to tie it at 3-3. Western then went on a 10-3 scoring run, capped by a pair of 3-pointers from Houpt, who made a total of four from beyond the arc in the first half. Down 15-8, Carter was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all three charity shots. Albers then stole the ball and later dished it to Karhoff, whose layup made it a two-point ballgame at 15-13.

Western Illinois took a 21-13 advantage with less than eight minutes to go, but buckets from Karhoff and Steffensmeier got the Mavs back on track at 21-17. Steffensmeier then knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 23-20, but the Leathernecks quickly went on another scoring run to go ahead 31-20. Back-to-back baskets by Albers halted the run and kept it under a 10-point margin, with Western Illinois taking a 33-24 lead at halftime.

In the second half, an early dunk by Parks gave WIU a 37-26 advantage, but Welhouse pulled UNO back with a 3-pointer. After missing their next five shots attempts, the Leathernecks broke free for a 15-4 run, with Houpt and Clark connecting on a trio of shots from long range to make it 53-35.

Western Illinois took a 20-point lead with eight minutes remaining, then stretched it to their largest lead of the game at 62-38 on a layup from Tyler.

In the closing minutes, Albers dropped in six straight points, including a 3-pointer for his final basket. The Leathernecks' Jeremy McDonald had the last score of the game, leaving the final tally at 71-52.