Box Score FARGO, N.D. -- The Omaha men's basketball team moved atop the Summit League standings with its victory Thursday night, defeating North Dakota State 91-82 at Scheels Arena. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 11-6 (3-0 Summit League), while the Bison dropped to 11-5 (1-1 Summit League).
Omaha's triumph ended NDSU's 31-game home win streak, which was a Summit League record and the sixth-longest active streak in the nation. The Bison had not lost at home since Nov. 18, 2013.
Senior guard
Devin Patterson led the Mavericks with 32 points, connecting on 11 of 14 shots from the floor with two 3-pointers and an 8-of-9 effort at the line. Nineteen of Patterson's points came in the second half.
Senior forward
Jake White added 17 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore forward
Tre'Shawn Thurman recorded 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds, shooting 7-of-10 from the field while tallying three assists, two blocks and two steals. Junior guard
Tra-Deon Hollins rounded out the Mavericks' four double-figure scoring performances, finishing with 12 points, as well as three rebounds, three helpers and four steals.
As a team, Omaha connected on 54 percent (33-of-61) of its shots from the floor, 20 percent (2-of-10) from 3-point range and 74 percent (23-of-31) at the stripe. North Dakota State shot 48 percent (29-of-60) from the field, 38 percent (8-of-21) from long range and 89 percent (16-of-18) at the line. The Mavericks had the edge in rebounding (32-30) and steals (10-3), while the Bison had the advantage in blocks (4-2) and assists (15-12). Omaha committed a season-low eight turnovers while forcing 15 for NDSU.
North Dakota State had five double-figure scorers for the night: Paul Miller (24), A.J. Jacobson (13), Khy Kabellis (11), Kory Brown (10) and Carlin Dupree (10).
The Mavericks used two substantial runs to do their damage in the first half, starting with an 8-0 stretch that gave them an 18-11 lead seven minutes in. After NDSU made it a six-point game at 22-16, Omaha went on a 14-0 tear to build a 20-point lead at 36-16 with 5:38 till the break. Though the Bison got it under 10 in the final minute, UNO's last bucket of the half -- a Hollins layup -- gave the Mavericks a 43-30 advantage by the intermission.
In the second half, UNO shot at a 57 percent (17-of-30) clip, matching their largest lead of 20 when Hollins swiped his fourth steal of the night and completed a three-point play at 74-54. The Mavericks maintained their double-digit lead until NDSU cut it to 90-82 with 44 seconds left on back-to-back layups by Dupree, but a Patterson free throw and three consecutive Bison misses behind the arc brought Omaha's final tally to 91-82.
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 9, visiting South Dakota. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and Midco. Gary Sharp will also have the radio call on KOIL 1290 AM, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.