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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Omaha men's basketball team erased a 17-point halftime deficit, rallying to an 85-78 win over IUPUI at The Jungle on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 9-18 (6-8 Summit League), while the Jaguars dropped to 6-20 (1-11 Summit League).

Junior center John Karhoff led all scorers with a career-best 26 points. He shot 11-of-17 from the floor and added five rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block.

Senior forward Alex Welhouse also had an outstanding day, tallying the second double-double of his career with 17 points and a career-high-tying 12 rebounds. Welhouse shot 6-of-11 with three 3-pointers, and UNO is now 3-0 when a player records a double-double.

Junior guard Justin Simmons chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while sophomore guard CJ Carter added 16 points, three boards, four helpers and a steal.

IUPUI was led by 23 points apiece from Sean Esposito and Mitchell Patton. Esposito totaled seven threes for the day, and Patton's seven rebounds were a team best. Greg Rice had 16 points, and Donovan Gibbs added another 12.

As a team, UNO shot .532 (33-of-62) from the field, which marked the Mavericks' eighth .500-plus shooting effort in the last 11 games. IUPUI finished at a .500 clip and posted 12 treys for the game.

The Mavericks also outrebounded IUPUI, 40-26, which marked a season-best effort on the glass.

In the first stanza, it was all IUPUI, as the Jaguars knocked down 10 3-pointers as a team. Esposito exploded for a 6-of-6 performance from long range, chalking up 20 points in the opening 20 minutes. IUPUI led by as much as 22 and went to the locker room with a 51-34 score by halftime.

UNO erased the 17-point deficit in the first 10 minutes of the second half, aided by a 15-0 run strung together by Karhoff, Carter and Simmons. Down by one, a pair of Welhouse threes sandwiched another basket by Karhoff, spurring the Mavericks to a 64-60 lead. It was all the push UNO needed, as it never relinquished the lead and took it out as far as a nine-point margin. With 13 seconds to go, Carter capped it with his second dunk of the game and hit a free throw, helping Omaha to its final score of 85-78 for the Mavs' sixth league win.

Omaha returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 19, hosting Chicago State in a non-conference matchup. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and links to live stats and live video will be available on OMavs.com.