OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha men's basketball team returned to its winning ways Sunday afternoon, celebrating Senior Day with a dominant 85-62 win over Denver at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks, who evened the season series with DU, are now 13-14 (6-6 Summit League) on the season, while the Pioneers drop to 5-22 (1-12).
 
Leaders for Omaha
Matt Pile notched his third straight double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, finishing 10-of-15 from the floor.
 
KJ Robinson put up 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting while adding three rebounds, a game-high six assists and a steal. JT Gibson hit three 3-pointers en route to 11 points, three boards, five assists and two steals. For the day, the senior duo dished out a combined 11 helpers with just one turnover.
 
Zach Thornhill rounded it out with 10 points, and Marlon Ruffin had a key nine-point, five-rebound performance off the bench.
 
Leaders for Denver
DU was led by 28 points and eight rebounds from Ade Murkey, who shot 10-of-18. Robert Jones (12) and David Nzekwesi (10) also scored in double figures.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot 54.0% (34-of-63) to Denver's 45.5% (25-of-55) and outrebounded the Pioneers 37-27. The Mavericks also outscored DU 19-9 off turnovers.
 
Inside the First Half
The game sat tied at 22-22 before Thornhill and Gibson fired in back-to-back triples to spot the Mavericks a 30-24 advantage just prior to the under-four media timeout. It was part of a 17-6 run to end the half, as Omaha led 39-28 at the midway point.
 
The Mavericks had a 21-11 advantage on the glass, and Pile was a rebound shy of double-double territory in the first half alone. He totaled 12 points and nine caroms in the opening 20. 
 
Inside the Second Half
DU cut the margin to five at 14:51 after seven straight points from Murkey, but Omaha quickly took it back out to a double-digit lead. An 11-0 run was punctuated when Gibson canned his second three, putting the Mavericks up 58-42 with 10:41 to go. DU pulled no closer than 14 the rest of the way.
 
Noting Today's Game
-Today's win snapped Omaha's four-game losing skid.
-The Mavericks have now won four straight against Denver at Baxter Arena.
-KJ Robinson now carries a streak of 10 consecutive double-figure scoring performances, the longest of any Maverick this year.
-Omaha has shot 50.0% or better eight times this season.
 
Up Next
Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 20, visiting Purdue Fort Wayne. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind., 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.