Box Score DENVER, Colo. – The Omaha men's basketball team closed out its conference roadtrip on Saturday afternoon, falling 88-74 to Denver at Magness Arena. With the loss, the Mavericks drop to 8-15 (2-9 Summit League), while the Pioneers improve to 10-13 (4-6 Summit League).
UNO was led by a game-leading 20 points from senior guard
CJ Carter, who finished 6-of-13 from the field with a pair of threes. Junior guard
Marcus Tyus joined Carter in double figures with 19 points, as well as two rebounds, a game-high three steals and an assist.
Senior forward
Mike Rostampour and junior forward
Jake White each pulled down six boards to lead UNO, with Rostampour adding seven points and White chipping in eight of his own.
As a team, Omaha shot 25-of-52 (.481) from the floor, 4-of-12 (.333) from long range and 20-of-34 (.588) at the free throw line. Denver came in at a blistering 29-of-42 (.690) from the field, 8-of-16 (.500) beyond the arc and 22-of-27 (.815) at the line. The Mavericks outrebounded Denver, 26-23.
DU was led by four players scoring in double figures: Brett Olson (19 points), Nate Engesser (19), Cam Griffin (187) and Jalen Love (16).Griffin had a game-high nine rebounds, three assists and two steals to go along with his scoring effort.
Denver was nearly unstoppable offensively in the first half, shooting 15-of-21 (.714) from the field with six 3-pointers. Olson led the charge for the Pioneers, totaling 12 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting, which helped DU lead 42-26 at the half.
The Pioneers took their largest advantage of the game at 15:32 in the second half, as an Engesser layup made it 59-32. DU maintained at least a 20-point lead until 10:40, when Carter drained a three to cut it to 64-47 and spark a UNO rally. Over the next five minutes, the Mavericks chipped away at Denver's lead, shearing it to 75-65 on a 6-0 run with a
Tre'Shawn Thurman free throw, a Carter layup and a 3-pointer from Tyus. In the closing minutes, the Mavericks continued to battle and finished with a 17-of-32 (.531) second-half shooting effort, but Denver ultimately prevailed, 88-74.
Omaha begins a three-game homestand next week, beginning with South Dakota on Thursday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on 1180 Zone 2 with Gary Sharp and former Maverick Grant Nieland on the call. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
