NICEVILLE, Fla. -- A win was in reach but slipped away in the final minute for the Omaha men's basketball team Friday afternoon, as the Mavericks fell 86-85 to Tennessee Tech at the Emerald Coast Classic. UNO is now 0-6 on the season, while the Golden Eagles improve to 5-1.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Sophomore KJ Robinson went off for a career-high 25 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field with seven 3-pointers. He added a career-high five rebounds, five assists and a block for the day. It was the most threes in a game by any Maverick since Marcus Tyus drained eight at South Dakota State on Jan. 7, 2017.
 
Three other Mavericks tallied in double figures on the day: sophomore JT Gibson (15) and seniors Lamar Wofford-Humphrey (14) and Daniel Norl (11). Wofford-Humphrey also pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds.
 
Leaders for Tennessee Tech
TTU was led by Courtney Alexander's double-double on 13 points and 15 rebounds with three assists, two blocks and a steal. Mason Ramsey had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and Kajon Mack (19) and Aleksa Jugovic (17) joined him with double-figure scoring.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot a season-high .518 (29-of-56) to TTU's .571 (32-of-56), and the Mavericks hit at a season-best .565 (13-of-23) clip from long range. The Golden Eagles had a 32-24 rebounding advantage and outscored Omaha 48-24 in the paint.
 
Inside the First Half
Robinson opened the game on fire, hitting 5-for-5 from the field with four 3-pointers en route to 14 points. A back-and-forth start included six ties and six lead changes, and Omaha saw its final lead with 11:38 to go, 17-16. TTU finished the half on a 9-4 run and led 42-35 by the break.
 
Inside the Second Half
The Mavericks, who faced an 11-point first-half deficit, slowly chipped away in the second stanza, with Robinson's seventh trey of the game pulling Omaha within three at 52-49. Omaha hit nine triples in the half, and a Wofford-Humphrey layup plus trio of threes from Gibson, Norl and freshman Ayo Akinwole over a two-and-a-half-minute stretch finally tilted it in Omaha's favor, 64-61 with 10:13 left.
 
Tennessee Tech later cut it to one, but Wofford-Humphrey answered with Omaha's 12th three of the day to extend the lead to 78-74 with just over four minutes to play. The Golden Eagles knotted it at 78-78, 80-80 and again at 82-82, but Gibson came through with another three to put the Mavericks ahead 85-82 with 1:39 left. TTU then hit a pair of free throws with 32.3 seconds to go, leaving Omaha clinging to an 85-84 edge heading into the final stretch. But TTU got a steal from Alexander that led to Jugovic's go-ahead layup, giving the Golden Eagles the win, 86-85.
 
Up Next
Omaha faces the loser of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Jackson State on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 10 a.m. in Niceville, Fla. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.