OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha men's basketball team opened Summit League play with a bang Friday night, defeating Denver 91-84 at Baxter Arena. Now carrying a four-game win streak, the Mavericks are 7-7 (1-0 Summit League), while the Pioneers drop to 5-10 (0-1).
 
Leaders for Omaha
JT Gibson had a career scoring performance to lead a contingent of five Mavericks in double figures. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native finished with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 from distance, along with three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
 
Matt Pile hit 8-of-12 from the field for a season-high 17 points with six boards and a block. Mitch Hahn had another 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting with six rebounds and an assist.
 
Zach Jackson, who made his 100th career start, added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Ayo Akinwole rounded it out with 10 points, three assists and a steal.
 
In addition, KJ Robinson dished out a game-high five assists with five points and two caroms.
 
Leaders for Denver
Transfer Ronnie Harrell Jr. led all scorers with 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists. Donoven Carlisle had a double-double on 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Joe Rosga posted 19 points with four 3-pointers.
 
Team Stats
Omaha, which shot over .500 for the third straight game, finished at .540 (34-of-63) as a team, .478 (11-of-23) from long range and .750 (12-of-16) at the stripe. Denver came in at .486 (35-of-72) from the floor and had a 40-29 rebounding advantage.
 
The Mavericks had single-digit turnovers for the sixth straight game, committing just nine miscues and scoring 16 points off 13 DU turnovers.
 
Inside the First Half
Gibson and Hahn came out firing to open the game, with Gibson hitting 5-of-7 with three treys for 13 points and Hahn at 5-of-8 for 11 points.
 
After leading out of the gate and then falling behind, the Mavericks used a 5-0 run to lock the game at 28-28. They then surged with back-to-back threes from Gibson and Hahn to make it 36-33 with 1:43 to go. It gave Omaha the lead for good, and the Mavericks, who finished on an 11-4 spurt, took a 41-37 lead by the half.
 
Inside the Second Half
The Mavericks nailed their first six shots to take their largest lead, 54-42 with 16:57 to play. DU responded with an 8-0 run over 1:05 and eventually pulled within three at 64-61 with just under 10 left. But Omaha, which shot .548 (17-of-31) in the half and had nine different Mavericks score, overcame an 18-point, eight-rebound half for Harrell and held Denver at bay the rest of the way.
 
Noting Tonight's Game
-Omaha is now 5-0 when leading at the half this season.
-Tonight was the Mavericks' first league-opening win in three years.
-Omaha has had five double-figure scorers five times this season.
-JT Gibson remains the only Maverick to hit a 3-pointer in every game this season.
-Denver leads the all-time series with Omaha, 8-6.
 
Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 30, playing host to Oral Roberts at 4:30 p.m. at Baxter Arena. Gary Sharp and John Karhoff will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.