ESTERO, Fla. -- Marlon Ruffin hit a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left to give the Omaha men's basketball team its first win of the season, 60-59 over Middle Tennessee at the #BeachBubble at the Gulf Coast Showcase Thursday morning at Hertz Arena. The Mavericks are now 1-1 on the season, while MTSU drops to 0-1.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Ruffin led Omaha off the bench for the second straight contest with a game-high 18 points, aided by a clutch 7-of-7 effort at the free throw line. He added four rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.
 
Matt Pile and Wanjang Tut both finished just shy of double-doubles, with Pile putting up 16 points, nine boards and two assists, and Tut adding 10 points and nine caroms.
 
Leaders for Middle Tennessee
Donovan Sims had 14 points to lead the Blue Raiders, and Jordan Davis added 13 points and six rebounds. Jared Coleman-Jones grabbed a team-high seven boards.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot 41% (22-of-54) to MTSU's 32% (19-of-59) and outrebounded the Blue Raiders 43-32.
 
Inside the First Half
A slow start saw Omaha fall behind by nine but claw back to a 13-point lead in the opening 20 minutes. Ruffin tied it at 19-19 before Omaha took the lead on a Pile layup just before the under-8 timeout.
 
The Mavericks finished the half on a 20-0 run, and MTSU, which shot 25%, went quiet for the final 11 minutes while Omaha outscored the Blue Raiders 22-2. The Mavericks led 32-19 at the midway point.
 
Inside the Second Half
A Tut jumper out of the break extended the run to 22-0 and put Omaha up by 15 -- their largest lead of the day -- less than two minutes into the half.
 
But two 3-pointers from Sims and Davis -- part of five triples in the first six minutes -- helped MTSU cut the Maverick lead to five. MTSU used another 6-0 run and capitalized on a three-minute Maverick scoring drought and four turnovers to go ahead 44-43 with 9:34 remaining. Another 7-0 spurt and three minutes without an Omaha bucket put the Blue Raiders up 55-50.
 
The Mavericks would not be denied down the stretch, as MTSU suffered a two-minute drought in the closing minutes, allowing Omaha to whittle it to a one-point game. After MTSU drew a foul and missed a pair of free throws, Ruffin hit two at the other end to make it a one-point game at 59-58 with nine seconds left. Omaha forced a turnover on the ensuing possession.
 
With 3.2 seconds on the clock, Ayo Akinwole then inbounded to Ruffin, who was fouled by Jo'Vontae Millner-Cross. Ruffin steeled himself at the stripe and hit both to seal the game, 60-59.
 
Up Next
Following a day off, Omaha caps the Gulf Coast Showcase against Abilene Christian on Saturday, Nov. 28. Tipoff is set for 10 a.m. CT at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla.  A stream will be available via FloHoops, 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.