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VERMILLION, S.D. – The Omaha men's basketball team began the second half of conference play on Thursday night, knocking off South Dakota 95-90 at the DakotaDome. With a resilient performance in their first league road victory, the Mavericks improved to 6-16 (3-6 Summit League), while the Coyotes dropped to 8-13 (4-5 Summit League).

Five Mavericks finished with double-figure scoring efforts, marking just the second time this season they have accomplished the feat. As a team, Omaha made 13 threes, which marked a season-best performance from beyond the arc.

Junior guard Justin Simmons led all scorers by pouring in 26 points, his second-highest scoring total of the season. Simmons shot 10-of-21 with five 3-pointers and added three rebounds, four assists and one block.

Senior forward Alex Welhouse and sophomore guard CJ Carter added 17 points apiece, with Welhouse's mark a season best. Welhouse was 6-of-10 from the floor with four threes, and he pulled down a game-best nine rebounds along with two helpers and a steal. Carter finished 6-of-13 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line, and he had three rebounds, two assists and two steals to his credit.

Junior center John Karhoff and junior guard Caleb Steffensmeier also matched each other with 14 points apiece. Karhoff shot 7-of-8 and had four rebounds, an assist and a block, while Steffensmeier, whose scoring total was a season best, was 5-of-7 with three treys, five rebounds, three assists and a career-high-tying two blocks.

South Dakota was paced by 26 points from Juevol Myles, who finished 9-of-20 from the floor with four threes. Brandon Bos chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds, while Steve Tecker had 14 points and nine boards, and Trevor Gruis rounded out the effort with 13 points and another nine rebounds.

In their highest-scoring game of the year, Omaha shot 56 percent (36-of-64) as a team, 50 percent (13-of-26) from long range and 77 percent (10-of-13) at the line. USD finished at a 46 percent (33-of-71) clip, 47 percent (11-of-24) from beyond the arc and 68 percent (13-of-19) at the charity stripe. The Coyotes also committed just five turnovers as a team, and the two squads finished neck-and-neck on the glass, with USD grabbing 36 rebounds and UNO taking 35.

Omaha came out firing to start the game, taking a 17-9 lead with the help of three 3-pointers between Simmons and Welhouse and three fastbreak layups by Carter. A Steffensmeier trey pushed it to 20-12, and the Mavericks later went up 27-19 when Hagerbaumer grabbed a key offensive board and kicked it out to Simmons, who hit his third three of the half.

The Coyotes pulled within one at 30-29, but Welhouse countered with a long 3-pointer to make it 33-29. USD then took its first lead of the night, 39-38, on a jumper by Robertson with 1:34 until halftime. Welhouse's third three of the half put Omaha back in control just before the end of the half, giving UNO a 43-41 lead by the break.

In the second half, UNO took its largest lead of the game by 15, leading South Dakota 75-60 with 9:16 left. The Coyotes used a three from Myles to cut it to a single-digit margin at 77-69, followed by a three from Kasperbauer. Myles hit a pair of threes and another 3-pointer with 4:59 to go, bringing USD within two at 79-77.

Two buckets from Simmons, another three by Steffensmeier and a Karhoff jumper kept the Mavs ahead, 88-82. Tecker cut it to 88-84 with 2:39 left, and Welhouse dropped in a shot with two minutes to go, pushing Omaha to the 90-point threshold. With under a minute remaining, a Gruis dunk made it a four-point game, and a steal and a tip-in by Tecker took it to 90-88 with 37 seconds left.

Carter then drew the foul from Myles and hit both his free throws, followed by Steffensmeier going to the line for another foul shot. South Dakota missed a key three on its final possession, and two final free throws by Carter iced the game with one second left on the clock, giving Omaha the victory in a 95-90 thriller.

Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 26, traveling to Kansas City. Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m. at Swinney Recreation Center in Kansas City, Mo., and the game will be broadcast live on 1620 AM. Links to live stats and audio will also be available on OMavs.com.