Box Score PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Omaha men's basketball team brought its non-conference schedule to a close Wednesday night, falling 94-75 to Pitt at Petersen Events Center. With their three-game win streak snapped, the Mavericks are now 7-6 (0-0 Summit League) on the season, while the Panthers improve to 10-2 (0-0 ACC).
Junior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman led Omaha with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Omaha Central product's last board of the game moved him into the top 20 in school history for career rebounds, tying him with Tom Thompson (1984-88) at 483.
Senior guard Tra-Deon Hollins added 17 points, a season-high six steals, five assists and three rebounds for the night, shooting 6-of-9 from the field.
Redshirt freshman JT Gibson, making his first career start, finished 5-of-9 from the field en route to a career-high-tying 13 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior guard Marcus Tyus rounded it out with 10 points, helped by a pair of 3-pointers.
Pitt got a double-double from Michael Young, who totaled a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds with six assists and a block. Jamel Artis (19), Cameron Johnson (16) and Ryan Luther (11) also scored in double figures.
The Panthers outshot Omaha .561 (32-of-57) to .466 (27-of-58), including .476 (10-of-21) to .368 (7-of-19) from long range. Pitt also finished. 800 (20-of-25) at the free throw line, while Omaha was .560 (14-of-25), and the Panthers had a 38-27 advantage on the glass.
For its part, UNO forced 14 Pitt turnovers with 10 steals, scoring 23 points off miscues.
Omaha played tough with Pitt early in a first half that included five ties and nine lead changes. With 5:50 to play, the Mavericks trailed by six, 27-21, but Tyus singlehandedly strung together an 8-0 run with back-to-back threes and a layup in under a minute to put them ahead 29-27. A Thurman layup at 3:50 gave Omaha its last lead at 31-28 before a Luther 3-pointer equalized it. The Panthers, who shot .630 (17-of-27), finished the half on an 18-2 run over the last 3:38, taking a 46-33 advantage at the halfway point.
In the second half, Pitt and Omaha both shot .500, with the Panthers hitting 15-of-30 and Omaha knocking down 13-of-26. The Mavericks pulled within 10 twice, first with a jumper by sophomore forward Mitch Hahn at 63-53 and again with a layup from freshman guard KJ Robinson at 65-55 with 10:13 left. But Pitt used an 18-6 surge from there, punctuated by a three-point play by Young, to go up 81-59 with 6:31 to go. The Panthers took their largest lead of the game with a Corey Manigault free throw that made it 94-68 with 1:38 remaining before capping the game with a final score of 94-75.
Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 29, opening Summit League play at South Dakota. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Vermillion, S.D, and the game will be televised live on Midco and ESPN3. 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.
