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OMAHA, Neb. – In what proved to be a back-and-forth battle, the Omaha men's basketball team pulled out an 83-75 thriller over North Dakota in the Mavericks' first ESPN Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters appearance on Saturday afternoon at Ralston Arena. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 11-18 (6-8 Summit League), while UND drops to 12-15 (9-8 Big Sky).

Junior center John Karhoff nabbed the third double-double of his career with 17 points and 10 rebounds, as well as three assists and a career-best three blocks. The effort marked Karhoff's first double-double since his redshirt freshman season in 2010-11, and UNO is now 4-0 on the season when a player records a double-double.

Junior guard Justin Simmons finished with a team-high 20 points for his 10th 20-plus point performance of the year. Simmons added three rebounds and a pair of assists, and he finished 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

Senior forward Alex Welhouse also had a double-figure effort with 13 points with two 3-pointers, seven boards and a steal, while sophomore guard CJ Carter finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Six of Carter's boards came on the offensive end, and his total on the glass matched his career best.

In addition, junior guard Alex Phillips notched nine points, and junior guard Caleb Steffensmeier chipped in six points, two rebounds, three assists and career-high-tying four steals off the bench.

North Dakota was paced by 21 points from Troy Huff and 19 points from Aaron Anderson, who finished 4-for-5 from long range. Mitch Wilmer had seven points and a team-leading eight rebounds, while Shane Benton had six points and seven boards. Jamal Webb added eight points, five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.

As a team, UNO shot .448 (30-of-67) to UND's .420 (30-of-70). The Mavericks came in at a .750 (18-of-24) clip at the free throw line, while North Dakota finished at .474 (9-of-19). Omaha also outrebounded UND, 42-40.

Omaha opened the game to a 14-9 lead by way of six Maverick scorers, then led by as much as 12 when it took a 25-13 advantage. North Dakota knocked it down to a single-digit margin, then tied it at 30-30 and went up 33-30 on Anderson's second and third threes of the game. In the final three minutes of the half, the squads traded leads three times, and Doug Archer's jumper spotted UND a four-point advantage. But a pair of Karhoff free throws and a 3-pointer by Welhouse knotted the score at 41-41 by the break.

UNO's shooting improved to .500 in the second half, while the Mavericks limited UND to .351 showing. The second stanza included 17 lead changes, and UND's last lead came at 73-70 with 4:32 left. The momentum then shifted to Omaha, as Simmons hit a three to tie it at 73-73. Back-to-back layups from Karhoff pushed it to 77-73 before UND got back within two on a pair of Webb foul shots.

It was a big 3-pointer by Welhouse, however, that did it for the Mavs, as the senior hit one from the right side that gave UNO an 80-75 lead. North Dakota missed its five field goal attempts in the last minute, and Phillips, Welhouse and Steffensmeier each hit a free throw, giving Omaha the 83-75 win.

Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 28, hosting South Dakota State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and links to live stats, live audio and live video will be available on OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on 1620 AM with Gary Sharp on the call.

Additionally, fans are encouraged to wear black to Thursday's game as part of UNO's Blackout promotion. Ralston Arena will also offer $1 hot dogs and $1 beers in the hour before tipoff, and a halftime performance will feature dance crew i.aM.mE, which won Season 6 of “America's Best Dance Crew” on MTV.