Box Score MACOMB, Ill. – The Omaha men's basketball team finished its three-game road stint on Sunday afternoon, falling 80-78 to Western Illinois at Western Hall. The Mavericks are now 7-7 (1-1 Summit League), while the Leathernecks improve to 7-6 (2-0 Summit League).

Junior guard Marcus Tyus scored a career-high 25 points, shooting 9-of-17 with a pair of threes. He added five rebounds, two assists and a steal for the afternoon.

Senior guard CJ Carter chipped in 18 points with three steals, a pair of assists and a rebound, while junior forward Jake White had 11 points with six boards. Senior forward Mike Rostampour led the way on the glass, pulling down 10 rebounds alongside seven points, two steals and an assist.

As a team, Omaha shot 24-of-57 (.421) from the field, 5-of-19 (.263) from long range and 25-of-39 (.641) at the foul line. Western Illinois finished at 25-of-50 (.500) from the floor, 10-of-25 (.400) behind the arc and 20-of-26 (.769) at the line. UNO won the rebounding battle, 36-33.

Western Illinois was led by 21 points from Mike Miklusak, who shot 7-of-12 with three 3-pointers and snagged seven boards. Jabari Sandifer added 20 points, and Jamie Batish finished with 15 points on five treys. Garret Covington tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.  

UNO scored early and often, going ahead 16-4 nine minutes in. Omaha took its largest lead of the half at 8:20, leading 24-10 on a Thurman jumper. After starting the game 0-of-8 from long range, Western surged to make six 3-pointers in the final seven minutes of the half. The Mavericks led 30-16 with 4:41 to go, but a trio of consecutive WIU threes reduced the lead to five. Batish's third triple pulled the Leathernecks within one, but Rostampour hit one last basket for the Mavericks, who led 33-30 at the intermission.

Omaha hung on to its lead until 10:09 in the second half, when Miklusak knocked in his third three of the game to tie it at 52-52. Batish immediately hit another triple to make it 55-52 for the Leathernecks, who took their first lead since going up 2-0 to start the game.

WIU led by eight in the final minute of play, but a three-point play by junior guard Kyler Erickson quickly narrowed the score 77-72 with 0:33 left. Following a Sandifer free throw, Tyus came up with a 3-pointer that made it 78-75 with 0:22 to go. Erickson then fouled Miklusak, who made both foul shots, and Tyus drilled another triple to cut it to 80-78 with 0:07 remaining. The Mavericks forced a turnover to regain possession and inbounded the ball with 4.4 seconds on the clock, but one last 3-point attempt was just short, giving Western Illinois the 80-78 win.

Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 8, hosting North Dakota State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3/Midco. Gary Sharp will also have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the game, as Ralston Arena will offer $1 beers, sodas and hot dogs for the hour prior to tipoff.