GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- The Omaha men's basketball team dropped its season opener Friday night, falling 89-80 in overtime to Montana State at Four Seasons Arena. The Mavericks are now 0-1 on the season, while the Bobcats improve to 1-0.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Senior Daniel Norl exploded for a career-high 29 points, shooting 13-of-18 from the floor while adding nine rebounds and two steals.
 
Junior Mitch Hahn had his second career double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds along with two assists and a steal. Classmate Zach Jackson matched him with 12 more points for the night, and senior Lamar Wofford-Humphrey narrowly missed a double-double of his own with 10 points and nine boards.
 
Leaders for Montana State
The nation's leading returning 3-point duo, Harald Frey and Tyler Hall, came through for the Bobcats. Frey finished with 29 points and nine rebounds with four 3-pointers, while Hall chipped in 19 more points with three treys. Keljin Blevins rounded it out with 17 points and eight caroms.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot 42.93 percent (30-of-71) from the field but a dismal 10.0 percent (2-of-20) from long range, while Montana State finished at 43.8 percent (32-of-73) from the floor and 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from three. The Mavericks had the edge on the glass, 46-42.
 
Inside the First Half
Omaha shot 31.3 percent (10-of-32) as a team in the first half, but Norl led the way with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting with five boards. Down 16-14, Omaha came out of a media timeout at 7:43 and got an immediate bucket from the senior, which pushed him to double figures. The score tied again at 24-all on a 6-0 Maverick run, but Montana State used an 8-0 spurt of its own to later close the half with a 32-25 advantage.
 
Inside the Second Half
The Mavericks heated up to 54.8 percent (17-of-31) shooting in the second stanza. Norl accounted for seven of Omaha's first 11 points of the half, and a layup by Wofford-Humphrey knotted the game once more at 36-36 less than four minutes in. The Bobcats took the lead from there and built up to an 11-point lead, 62-51, by 4:42 before Omaha came out of a timeout and steadily chipped away.
 
Five straight points from Norl cut the differential to 62-58, and the score finally tied once more at 64-64 on a KJ Robinson layup with 1:36 left. The Mavericks then grabbed the lead on a Hahn free throw at 65-64 and again at 68-67 on a Jackson 3-pointer, but a Blevins free throw for MSU tied it at 68-68, which held to send the game to overtime.
 
Inside Overtime
MSU outscored Omaha 21-12 in the extra period, powered by a 10-2 start. Fray scored 12 of his points in overtime for the Bobcats, who hit 6-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-9 at the line.
 
Up Next
Omaha continues its opening road swing on Sunday, Nov. 12 at Oklahoma, and tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Norman, Okla. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Oklahoma, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.