Box Score LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Omaha men's basketball team battled in another strong road performance and nearly knocked off UNLV on Friday night, falling just short with a 73-70 loss at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Mavericks are now 2-2 (0-0 Summit League), while the Runnin' Rebels improve to 2-1 (0-0 Mountain West).
Omaha was paced by sophomore guard
Devin Patterson's 17 points with three assists and two steals. Senior center
John Karhoff added 15 points, four boards, two assists, a steal and a block, and junior guard
CJ Carter had 13 points, three helpers and two steals. Senior forward
Matt Hagerbaumer led the way on the glass, totaling a career-high-tying 11 rebounds along with two assists, three steals and a block.
UNLV was led by Roscoe Smith's career highs of 17 points and 22 rebounds, while Khem Birch narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points, 10 boards and eight blocks.
As a team, the Runnin' Rebels outrebounded UNO, 55-43, and blocked 12 shots. For its part, Omaha forced 21 turnovers and committed only nine of its own.
UNLV shot 59 percent (16-of-27) in the first half, and Kevin Olekaibe hit a trio of threes to push the Runnin' Rebels to a 36-27 halftime lead. Their field goal percentage dropped to 33 percent (13-of-39) in the second stanza, coming in at 44 percent (29-of-66) for the night.
Despite shooting 33 percent (24-of-73) from the field for the game, the Mavericks still hung close. Trailing most of the second half, Omaha tied it at 68-68 on a 3-pointer from junior forward
Mike Rostampour with 1:38 to go. UNLV then looked to Dejean-Jones, who hit a pair of foul shots, but Patterson knotted it once more at 70-70 with 42 seconds remaining.
Birch's effort was key down the stretch for UNLV, as he tipped in a missed shot by Bryce Dejean-Jones with 12 seconds left that eventually became the game-winner, then blocked Carter's attempted layup at the other end. After Jelan Kendrick hit a free throw with 4.6 seconds remaining, Carter put up one last 3-point attempt that just missed at the buzzer for a final score of 73-70.
Omaha returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 19, hosting South Carolina State for the first game of a home-and-home series this season. Tipoff is set for 7 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 with Gary Sharp and Grant Nieland on the call.
