OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha men's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit Saturday night, defeating Oral Roberts 74-67 at Baxter Arena to open the new decade. The win was the Mavericks' 14th straight home victory dating back to the 2018-19 season.
Omaha improves to 9-8 (2-0 Summit League) on the season, while the Golden Eagles drop to 7-8 (0-2).
Leaders for Omaha
Wanjang Tut led the Mavericks with a season-high 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
Marlon Ruffin was outstanding off the bench, finishing with 15 points on a perfect 5-of-5 effort, including two key threes in the second half.
JT Gibson (13) and
Zach Thornhill (12) also scored in double figures.
Matt Pile pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds with eight points, and
Ayo Akinwole dished out a game-high seven assists.
Leaders for Oral Roberts
ORU was led by double-doubles from Kevin Obanor (18 points/10 rebounds) and Emmanuel Nzekwesi (14 points/10 rebounds). Elijah Lufile added nine points and another eight boards.
Team Stats
Omaha shot 52.6% (30-of-57) to ORU's 37.9% (22-of-58). The Golden Eagles had a 39-28 rebounding advantage, including 19-8 on the offensive end.
Inside the First Half
The first half included seven ties and five lead changes.
Omaha enjoyed an 8-0 run courtesy of four straight buckets from Ruffin and Thornhill to build a 28-22 advantage with just over six minutes to the half. But ORU closed the first stanza on a 17-3 scoring spurt to lead 41-33 at the midway point.
Inside the Second Half
Omaha battled back and took its first lead since the first half when Ruffin canned a 3-pointer at 8:48 to put the Mavericks up 58-57. He hit another corner three on the next possession, then added two free throws two minutes later to stretch the lead to 66-59.
ORU drew within one at 68-67 with three minutes left after a pair of Obanor foul shots. But Pile came up big over the last 2:43, swiping a pass, putting up a blocked shot and drawing a charge on the next three possessions to halt the Golden Eagles' momentum.
After working time off the clock in the final minute, a Robinson layup made it 72-67 with 15 seconds to go. Thornhill punctuated the game with a dramatic two-handed slam at the buzzer.
Omaha shot an improved 60.7% (17-of-28) in the second half and got 11 points from Ruffin and 10 from Tut.
Noting Tonight's Game
-Entering tonight's game, Omaha's home win streak tied for the 12th-longest nationally.
-The Mavericks' 14 straight wins at Baxter Arena make up the longest streak of the
Derrin Hansen era.
-Omaha has rallied from a double-figure deficit twice this season. Over Hansen's 15-year career, the Mavericks have prevailed over a double-digit deficit 33 times, including 21 in the Division I era.
-The Mavericks have shot 50.0% as a team five times this year and have 18 straight wins when shooting 50.0% or better.
-Tonight's win snapped ORU's four-game win streak in the series and a two-game streak in Omaha.
Up Next
Omaha visits North Dakota on Wednesday, Jan. 8, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The game will be broadcast live on YurView Cox Channel 13, Midco and ESPN+, 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.
