DENVER -- The Omaha men's basketball team moved one step closer to clinching a spot in the Summit League Tournament Friday night, defeating Denver 80-76 at Hamilton Gymnasium behind Ayo Akinwole's career-high 32-point performance.
 
The Mavericks and Pioneers entered the weekend with identical 1-11 Summit League records. A sweep of the series locks Omaha into a No. 8 seed for the league tournament. In the case of a weekend split, the tiebreaker would come down to the team with the higher NET ranking, which would officially be released after the conclusion of the final regular-season games.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Akinwole put the Mavericks on his back, pouring in his career-best 32 points on 10-of-16 shooting with six 3-pointers. The senior was a perfect 6-of-6 at the line and grabbed eight rebounds.
 
La'Mel Robinson also exploded for 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting and added three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Matt Pile joined them in double figures with 12 points on a 6-of-8 night, narrowly missing a double-double with nine rebounds, a pair of assists and two blocks.
 
Leaders for Denver
Jase Townsend led the Pioneers with 18 points and five assists, while Sam Hines Jr. added 15 points and seven rebounds. Koby Lam rounded it out with 13 points on four triples.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot 50.0% (29-of-58) to Denver's 42.3% (30-of-71) and outrebounded DU 38-32. Akinwole accounted for six of the Mavericks' eight threes. The Pioneers hit 10 triples for the night.
 
Omaha also finished at an 82.4% (14-of-17) clip at the stripe, while Denver was just 46.2% (6-of-13).
 
Inside the First Half
The Mavericks opened the game to a 16-4 edge, and a Jadin Booth trey gave them a 12-point advantage at 13:54. Omaha was 7-of-14 from deep as a team in the first 20 minutes.
 
Akinwole was the spark from the start, as he had 11 points in the first five minutes. The senior's 21 first-half points came on 7-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Robinson added another 16 points and two steals, hitting 6-of-9.
 
Omaha, which led by as many as 13 in the half, took a 51-44 lead into the locker room at the midway point.
 
Inside the Second Half
Denver battled back in the second half, as a 17-0 Pioneer run spotted them a nine-point lead at 64-55.
 
But Omaha countered with a 10-0 run of its own from Pile, Akinwole and Marco Smith to regain the lead and go up 69-66.
 
Hines Jr. hit back-to-back buckets to put DU ahead 72-71, but another Akinwole triple pushed it in Omaha's favor again at 74-72.
 
DU managed to pull within two late after a Hines Jr. tip-in with 11 seconds to go, but it was Akinwole who stepped up to drill a pair of free throws that sealed the win at 80-76.
 
Noting Tonight's Game
-Ayo Akinwole extended his double-figure scoring streak to seven games.
-Akinwole is a perfect 17-of-17 at the free throw line since Feb. 13.
-Tonight's win improves Omaha to 4-19 (2-11 Summit League), while Denver drops to 2-18 (1-12). 
 
Up Next
Omaha and Denver conclude the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 27, with tipoff set for 5 p.m. CT at Hamilton Gymnasium. Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1180 The Zone, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.