SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The second-seeded Omaha men's basketball team advanced to the Summit League Championship Final with a 61-60 win over the No. 3-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne Monday night at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
The Mavericks head to Tuesday's title game with a record of 21-10, while the Mastodons conclude their season with an 18-15 mark.
Leaders for Omaha
Mitch Hahn hit the go-ahead three with 3:13 left and finished with a game-high 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting while grabbing seven boards.
Zach Jackson had 12 points and six rebounds, and
JT Gibson rounded out the Mavericks' double-digit scoring efforts with 10 points and four steals.
Matt Pile narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Leaders for Purdue Fort Wayne
The duo of Kason Harrell and John Konchar notched 13 points apiece for the Mastodons, and Konchar also tallied seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Matt Holba recorded a team-high 10 rebounds.
Team Stats
Omaha was .426 from the floor on 23-of-54 shooting, including .409 (9-for-22) from beyond the arc, and 6-for-10 from the charity stripe. Purdue Fort Wayne went 24-of-58 from the field (.414), 8-of-27 from three (.296) and 4-of-6 (.667) from the free throw line.
The Mastodons outrebounded Omaha 35-32 and won the battle inside the paint, 33-22. Purdue Fort Wayne also had nine blocks compared to the Mavericks' one, and committed one less turnover than Omaha (17-16). Omaha, however, led for 32:12.
Inside the First Half
A hot shooting performance at .536 lifted Omaha to a 37-30 halftime lead. Omaha led by double digits on four different occasions in the first half, but the Mastodons were able to cut it to six by the 3:40 mark. The Mavericks held on and maintained the lead after a
KJ Robinson bucket and a Pile free throw.
Inside the Second Half
The Mavericks opened to a 12-point lead at the 17:46 mark in the second half on a Gibson three. The Mastodons then went on an 8-0 run and eventually cut it to single digits at the 10:49 mark. That was followed up with a Dylan Carl three that put Omaha in its first deficit of the second half, 51-50.
Five lead changes would happen in the remainder of the game before Omaha took a 61-60 advantage on a corner three from Hahn. The Mastodons had the final look in the game, but Konchar's long three-ball went wide and Omaha secured its first finals appearance since 2017.
Noting Tonight's Game
-Omaha has lost just three times since Dec. 8, winning 18 of its last 21 games and nine of its last 10.
-The Mavericks have won four straight in the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne.
-Omaha is 4-3 all-time in Summit League Tournament games.
Up Next
Omaha will play in its second Summit League Championship Final in three years on Tuesday, March 12, taking on No. 4 seed North Dakota State, who defeated Western Illinois in Monday's first semifinal. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., and the winner advances to the NCAA Championship with the league's automatic bid. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.com with Clay Matvick and Sean Harrington on the call, 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.
