Box Score DENVER, Colo. – The Omaha men's basketball team played its final regular-season road game of the season on Saturday, falling 72-60 to Denver at Magness Arena. The Mavericks are now 15-13 (4-8 Summit League), while the Pioneers improve to 15-12 (8-4 Summit League).
Junior guard
CJ Carter led the Mavericks with 12 points on 6-for-12 shooting with five rebounds and an assist. Junior forward
Mike Rostampour joined him in double figures with 10 points, narrowly missing a double-double as he pulled down nine boards as well.
Sophomore guard
Marcus Tyus chipped in eight points and five rebounds off the bench, while senior forward
Matt Hagerbaumer had six points and pulled down seven boards.
As a team, Omaha shot 34 percent (21-of-61) from the floor, 20 percent (3-of-15) from 3-point range and 56 percent (15-of-27) from the line. For its part, Denver came in with 44 percent (25-of-57) shooting, 35 percent (8-of-23) from long range and 88 percent (14-of-16) at the line.
Denver had four players score in double figures, led by Chris Udofia, who had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Cam Griffin added 14 points, while Marcus Byrd totaled 12 and Nate Engesser had 11.
Spurred by an 8-0 run, Omaha took an 18-9 lead eight minutes into the game. Denver came back with an 18-9 spurt, tying the game at 27-27 with 6:20 to go in the half with a Byrd 3-pointer and a layup from Love. The Pioneers then went up by four, but senior guard
Justin Simmons threw down a two-handed slam to bring it back to 31-29 DU. Denver had the momentum going into the locker room, however, as it led 41-34 at the break.
The Pioneers quickly worked back out to a double-digit lead in the second half, as Bryant Rucker's three made it 50-39 with 15:08 to go. Denver took its largest lead of the game with 7:46 left, as two Griffin free throws made it a 23-point margin. Supported by 10 second-half points from Griffin, DU closed the game with a final score of 72-60 on Senior Night.
Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 27, hosting IUPUI. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and KOZN 1620 AM will carry the game live with Gary Sharp and Grant Nieland calling the action. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
