Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Omaha Athletics

Mavs Nab Win Over IUPUI, 90-79 - Omaha Athletics

Men's Basketball Omaha Athletics

Mavs Nab Win Over IUPUI, 90-79

Box Score Box Score (PDF/HTML)

OMAHA, Neb. –
The Omaha men's basketball team nabbed its second conference win of the year Thursday night, defeating IUPUI 90-79 at Ralston Arena. With the win, the Mavericks are 5-14 (2-5 Summit League), while the Jaguars drop to 6-14 (1-5 Summit League).

Junior center John Karhoff led Omaha with a season-high 20 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and a flawless 6-of-6 at the free throw line. The Omaha native added five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

Sophomore guard CJ Carter added 19 points with four boards, two assists and a pair of steals. Junior guard Justin Simmons chipped in 16 points, and junior guard Alex Phillips had 15 points, with the duo pulling down a team-leading six rebounds each.

IUPUI was led by Donovan Gibbs, who grabbed a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Sean Esposito, who hit five 3-pointers for the night, finished with 20 points, and Jordan Shanklin added 15.

As a team, Omaha shot a season-best 62 percent (33-of-53) from the field, while IUPUI came in at a 48 percent (30-of-63) clip. The Jaguars shot 46 percent (10-of-22) from 3-point range, and UNO finished at 35 percent (6-of-17). The Mavericks were also 86 percent (18-of-21) at the free throw line.

IUPUI opened the game to a score of 9-4, but the Omaha rallied with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the night at 10-9. The Mavs shot 0-for-5 from three to start the game until trey from freshman guard Marcus Tyus pushed them ahead 22-18. Back-to-back threes from Phillips and junior guard Caleb Steffensmeier were part of UNO's 13-3 run that made it 33-21. With under a minute to go, a layup by Gibbs and a 3-pointer from Esposito pulled it to a margin of six, with the Mavericks leading 42-36 at halftime.

Omaha came out firing in the second half, shooting 73 percent from the floor as a squad. The Jaguars kept it interesting, however, managing to tie it at 62-all with a 14-1 run. Omaha answered swiftly with a rebound and five straight points from Karhoff for a tally of 68-64. A pair of IUPUI baskets kept it at a three-point ballgame, but another Karhoff basket pushed it back out to 78-73 with four minutes to go.

IUPUI remained within striking range in the final minutes, again pulling within three at 82-79 on a layup and a dunk from Gibbs. A crafty play from the Mavs -- with a Welhouse layup on the assist from Steffensmeier -- kept UNO ahead at 84-79. With 28 seconds remaining, Steffensmeier plunked in a pair of foul shots, Simmons threw down a reverse dunk, and Tyus sunk two free throws of his own, sealing UNO's win at 90-79.

Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 12, hosting league leader Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 11:30 a.m. at Ralston Arena, and links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

CJ Carter

#10 CJ Carter

G
6' 0"
Sophomore
John Karhoff

#44 John Karhoff

C
6' 8"
Junior
Alex Phillips

#4 Alex Phillips

G
6' 3"
Junior
Justin Simmons

#21 Justin Simmons

G
6' 3"
Junior
Caleb Steffensmeier

#12 Caleb Steffensmeier

G
6' 1"
Junior
Marcus Tyus

#23 Marcus Tyus

G
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

CJ Carter

#10 CJ Carter

6' 0"
Sophomore
G
John Karhoff

#44 John Karhoff

6' 8"
Junior
C
Alex Phillips

#4 Alex Phillips

6' 3"
Junior
G
Justin Simmons

#21 Justin Simmons

6' 3"
Junior
G
Caleb Steffensmeier

#12 Caleb Steffensmeier

6' 1"
Junior
G
Marcus Tyus

#23 Marcus Tyus

6' 1"
Freshman
G