OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha used a second-half surge to defeat conference leader South Dakota on Saturday afternoon, 77-73, at Ralston Arena. With the win, the Mavericks improve to 12-8 (2-3 Summit League) while the Coyotes drop to 8-11 (3-2 Summit League).

UNO was paced by junior guard CJ Carter, who led all scorers with 18 points, including three second-half 3-pointers. Carter also added a game-high five assists.

Three other Mavericks tallied double digits on the afternoon: senior guard Justin Simmons (16), sophomore Marcus Tyus (12) and junior forward Mike Rostampour (10). Rostampour finished a rebound shy from grabbing a double-double.

South Dakota was led all afternoon by its center, Trevor Gruis, who scored a team-high 16 points. The Coyotes got additional help from Brandon Bos (14), Tyler Larson (13) and Adam Thoseby (11), who all scored in double figures. Bos and Tyler Flake each pulled down a team-best five boards.

UNO shot 46 percent (26-of-57) for the day, improving from 33 percent in the first half to 59 percent in the second. USD finished with a 47 percent (23-of-49) effort from the floor and just 20 percent (3-of-15) from 3-point range.

Making seven of its first 11 shots, South Dakota took a 16-10 lead less than 10 minutes into the first half. The Coyotes stretched their lead to as much as 10 -- their largest lead of the game -- with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. Omaha managed to cut the lead to five by halftime, with South Dakota up 32-27 at the midway point.

Omaha opened the second half strong, pulling within one on baskets from Steffensmeier and Rostampour. After a quiet first half from long range, it was 3-point shooting that propelled UNO in the second stanza. The Mavericks buried three straight threes between Rostampour and Carter to take their first lead of the game at 46-43, starting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

The game remained close for most of the second half, with South Dakota knotting the game at 53-all, then using a 6-0 run jump ahead 60-54. Three minutes later, UNO went on a 6-0 run of its own to tie the game at 60-60. From that point it was back and forth action until Simmons nailed a three from the right corner with 2:37 remaining to give Omaha a 71-69 lead. The Mavericks' never relinquished the lead from that point on, and a dunk from Hagerbaumer on a Simmons assist with 0:37 remaining kept UNO up by four. Although two Bos free throws made it a two-point game once more, but two final foul shots by Tyus finished it off with a score of 77-73.

Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 30, traveling to Fort Wayne. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT) in Fort Wayne, Ind., and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on KOZN 1620 AM with Gary Sharp on the call.