Box Score INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Omaha men's basketball team pulled out a gritty double-overtime win Saturday afternoon, defeating IUPUI 87-80 at Indiana Fairgrounds Coliseum to close conference play. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 11-17 (5-11 Summit League), while the Jaguars dropped to 10-18 (4-12 Summit League).

Senior guard CJ Carter led all scorers with 29 points alongside four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Six weeks ago, Carter also put up 45 points against the Jaguars, bringing his season scoring total to 74 in the season series with IUPUI.

Freshman forward Tre'Shawn Thurman achieved the first double-double of his young career, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds, as well as two helpers, a steal and a block. Junior guard Tim Smallwood led UNO's long range attack, posting 15 points by way of a career-high five 3-pointers, finishing 5-of-7 beyond the arc.

As a team, Omaha outshot IUPUI .462 (30-of-65) to .418 (28-of-67) from the floor, including .500 (10-of-20) from 3-point range to the Jags' .273 (3-of-11).

IUPUI had four scorers in double figures: Marcellus Barksdale (18), Aaron Brennan (14), P.J. Boutte (13) and Mason Archie (11). Josh James pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

Down 10-2 to start the game, Omaha pulled within three by the first media timeout at 15:26. The Mavericks tied it at 12-12 on a three-point play by Thurman, eventually working out to a 22-20 lead with two foul shots from senior Mike Rostampour. Smallwood nailed three 3-pointers in the first half, the third of which gave the Mavericks a 32-24 advantage with 3:21 to go. A Thurman layup with 1:53 left again gave UNO an eight-point lead at 36-28, and the Mavericks headed into halftime holding a 39-34 lead.

Omaha led by as much as 15 in the second half, as two Carter free throws made it 49-34 four minutes in.
After IUPUI got within five, a Carter 3-pointer put the Mavericks ahead by double digits again, 62-52. From there, the Jaguars went on a 7-0 surge to trim the score to 62-59, then went ahead themselves 69-68 with 4:15 left on a Brennan jumper.

The Mavs' last bucket of the second half a contested three from junior guard Devin Patterson at 3:50, which put UNO up 71-69. Free throws by James and Brennan then tied the game at 71-71 with 0:11 left. In the final possession, Carter missed a three, and an attempted tip-in by Thurman was ruled to have gone up just after the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

Scoring was at a premium in the first overtime period, with IUPUI going up 73-71 with two Barksdale free throws. Omaha's only bucket was a Carter layup that tied it at 73-73 with 1:23 to go, which broke a Maverick scoring drought that began with 3:50 left in regulation.

In the second overtime, Archie knocked in a three with 3:47 on the clock, and Brennan put IUPUI up 78-75 with 2:41 to go. Though the Jags held on to the lead until 1:31, the Mavericks went on a 12-2 scoring tear to close out the game. First, a Thurman 3-pointer from the right wing put Omaha on top, 80-78, and Carter followed with a breakaway dunk to extend the lead to 82-78 with 1:04 left. Free throws by Thurman, Carter and junior guard Kyler Erickson sealed it in the final minute for UNO, capturing the 87-80 win.

Omaha returns to action on Tuesday, March 3, traveling to North Dakota for a non-conference season finale. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Grand Forks, N.D., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on KOIL 1290 A. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.

NOTES
-Omaha's last win in overtime came on Dec. 11, 2012 against Northwest Missouri State, 85-80.
-Omaha's last double overtime game was a 98-97 win over Augustana on Jan. 10, 2008.