OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha men's basketball team took down Western Illinois in its home finale Wednesday night, 77-63 at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks' fifth straight win moves them into a tie for first place in the Summit League standings at 17-9 (11-2), while WIU drops to 8-18 (3-10) with its fifth consecutive loss.
 
Leaders for Omaha
All five starters scored in double figures for the ninth time this season, led by Zach Jackson's game-high 21-point performance on 9-of-15 shooting with two 3-pointers. The senior grabbed three rebounds, dished out a game-best four assists and had two steals.
 
KJ Robinson shot 7-of-12 with a trio of threes, finishing with 17 points. JT Gibson chipped in 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting with three treys and pulled down four boards.
 
Matt Pile and Mitch Hahn each notched 12 points. Pile had a team-leading eight caroms with three assists and a steal, and Hahn had five boards and two assists.
 
Leaders for Western Illinois
Brandon Gilbeck had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for WIU with three assists and three blocks. Kobe Webster scored a team-high 17 points, and C.J. Duff and Isaac Johnson had 13 points apiece.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot .508 (32-of-63) as a team, bolstered by .579 (11-of-19) 3-point shooting. WIU finished at .433 (26-of-60) and .286 (6-of-21) from deep.
 
The Mavericks outrebounded the Leathernecks 33-31 and had a 17-0 advantage on fastbreak points. Omaha committed just six turnovers on the night, marking its fifth straight game with single-digit miscues and its 14th such performance this season.
 
Inside the First Half
A slow first half saw the Mavericks lead much of the way, building to a nine-point lead with an 8-0 run up to 16-7 with 12:26 to go. The Leathernecks managed to take a short lead at 30-29 with 55 seconds remaining after a 9-2 spurt, but a Pile dunk and a Robinson drive helped Omaha regain the lead by the break at 33-30.
 
Inside the Second Half
Omaha hit all of its first eight attempts from long range in the second half and was 13-of-16 from the field to start. Robinson opened up for 13 second-half points, hitting 5-of-6 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 behind the arc. He was flawless to start the second stanza, nailing 5-of-5 shots in the first eight minutes to ignite the Mavericks offensively.
 
Omaha took its largest advantage of the night at 66-45 on a Gibson triple -- the Mavericks' seventh three-ball of the half -- with 9:35 left. WIU pulled no closer than 15 until a free throw with 32 seconds left brought the final tally to 77-63.
 
Noting Tonight's Game
-Omaha's 11 league wins are a Division I program record.
-The Mavericks are now tied for first in the league standings with South Dakota State.
-JT Gibson remains the only Maverick with at least one 3-pointer in all 26 games this season.
-Mitch Hahn extended his double-digit scoring streak to 16 games, the longest of any Maverick this year.
-Zach Jackson has scored at least 20 points in seven of the last eight games.
-Omaha has won 14 of its last 16 games.
-The Mavericks end their home slate on a six-game home winning streak. They went 10-2 at home this season, including 7-1 in Summit League play.
-Omaha leads the all-time series against Western Illinois 12-10 after sweeping the season series. It has six straight wins over WIU in the series.
-The Mavericks have a 6-2 advantage over WIU in Omaha since 2011-12 and have won six straight at home against the Leathernecks.
 
Up Next
Omaha begins its final three-game road swing to conclude the regular season, visiting North Dakota State this Saturday, Feb. 23. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at the Scheels Center in Fargo, N.D., and the game will be broadcast on YurView Cox Channel 1013, ESPN3 and Midco. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1290 KOIL, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.