OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha men's basketball team put together a season-best offensive performance Sunday afternoon, topping UTRGV 92-82 at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks, who snapped a four-game losing skid, are now 6-7 on the season, while the Vaqueros drop to 4-7.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Matt Pile broke out for his third straight double-double, putting up 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Wichita, Kan., native was 9-of-10 from the floor and added a career-best six assists and three blocks.
 
Pile led a contingent of five double-figure scorers for the Mavericks. JT Gibson and KJ Robinson had 17 points apiece, and both finished a perfect 7-of-7 at the line. Zach Thornhill (12) and Ayo Akinwole (10) rounded it out, with Akinwole also grabbing eight caroms and dishing out five assists.
 
Leaders for UTRGV
Lesley Varner II shot 9-of-15 and was 10-of-10 at the line en route to a game-high 29 points. Javon Levi added 21 points and team highs of seven rebounds and eight assists.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot a season-best 62.1% (36-of-58) to UTRGV's 41.4% (29-of-70) and outrebounded the Vaqueros 36-33. The Mavericks had a 50-30 advantage in the paint.
 
Inside the First Half
Omaha hit 6-of-7 from the floor to open the game, and Pile posted 11 of Omaha's first 17 points. He had seven straight to singlehandedly start an 11-0 run, which put the Mavericks up 21-10.
 
Pile was a flawless 7-of-7 from the field for 15 points and eight boards in the first half, and another 11 points apiece from Robinson and Gibson helped spot the Mavericks a 51-33 halftime lead. Omaha shot 66.7% (22-of-33) in the opening 20.
 
Inside the Second Half
Less than three minutes into the second half, Omaha's lead swelled to its largest of the game at 59-36 on a Wanjang Tut layup that capped a 6-0 spurt.
 
The Maverick advantage remained in double digits until UTRGV, bolstered by a late 11-0 run before the final media timeout, managed to pull within eight with 26 seconds remaining.
 
Noting Today's Game
-Omaha's 92 points were a season high.
-The Mavericks extended their home win streak to 11 games dating back to the 2018-19 season. They are 5-0 at Baxter Arena in 2019-20.
-Omaha now leads the all-time series with UTRGV, 1-0.
-Omaha is 3-0 with five double-figure scorers on the same day.
 
Up Next
Omaha plays its final road game of the non-conference schedule, visiting Eastern Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Tipoff is set for 8:05 p.m. CT at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash., and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.