NICEVILLE, Fla. - Luke Jungers was one of six Mavericks in double-figures Saturday afternoon helping Omaha to its second straight win. Omaha downed Southern, 88-78, to win the consolation championship of the Emerald Coast Classic. It marks the first time the Mavericks have won two straight since the final two games of the 2020-21 season.

The Mavericks improve to 3-4 overall.

Omaha Leaders
Jungers led the Mavericks with a career-high 17 points on 4-of-7 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line. He hit three from deep and grabbed a team-best five boards. Marquel Sutton (15), JJ White (14), Frankie Fidler (13), Jaeden Marshall (11), and Dylan Brougham (11) also reached double figures for Omaha.

White dished out seven assists, while Fidler tallied six. Both were career-highs. Fidler added six boards and a career-best three steals.

Southern Leaders
Brion Whitley scored a game-leading 23 points. He shot 50 percent from the field and sunk four from three-point range. PJ Byrd (15), Bryson Etienne (12), and Tyrone Lyons (11) joined Whitley in double-figures. 

Whitley also led the Jaguars with three steals, while Byrd matched White's game-high of seven assists. Etienne and Festus Ndumanya grabbed five each off the glass.

Team Stats
The Mavericks shot a season-high 53.1 percent from the field including nearly 61 percent in the second half. They finished the game 7-of-11 from three-point range. Southern shot 45.2 percent on the night and connected on 35.5 percent of its attempts from deep.

For the second straight game, the Maverick bench led in scoring, 24-12. The Mavericks also held advantage on the fast break (26-16), in the paint (32-34), and on turnovers (19-9)

Inside the First Half
The Mavericks struggled to find their offensive stride in the first 15 minutes of Saturday's game. Whitley and Sutton traded baskets on the first two possessions, but the Jaguars were able to pull away following a three from Lyons. Etienne and Whitley also struck from beyond the arc helping Southern to a 15-8 lead at the first media timeout. Reynolds scored on a fast break layup out of the timeout to give Southern its largest lead of the half at nine, but with the help of Jungers off the bench, the Mavericks were slowly chipping away at the deficit.

Under the eight-minute mark, Fidler put two away from the line sparking a 7-0 run by Omaha. Jungers hit a three to tie game 25-25 with 5:41 remaining. He tied it again less than a minute later with another three-pointer opening the door for an Omaha lead at the hands of a Fidler jumper. The Jaguars took a one-point edge with a little over a minute to go, but Sutton closed the half with a layup. Mavericks led 37-36 at the break.

Inside the Second Half
Omaha's lead didn't falter in the second half. White and Fidler connected on back-to-back possessions increasing the lead to six. Over the next three minutes, Southern managed to get within three of the Mavericks three times, but Fidler and White once again extended the lead to eight.

Southern continued to connect from the field but got in foul trouble putting Omaha at the line four times ahead of the eight-minute media timeout. Out of the break, Sutton and Marshall combined for three quick points for Omaha's largest lead of the game at 11 points. The Jaguars got within three with 4:41 on the clock following another three-pointer from Lyons, but the Mavericks used a 12-4 run over the next three minutes capped with a dunk from Akol Arop to regain a double-digit lead, 84-73. Etienne's last effort three cut it down to eight, but Marshall's clutch free throws kept the win at 10. Omaha came out on top, 88-78.

Game Notes
-This marks the first game of the year six Mavericks have scored double-figures.
-It's the second straight game two bench players have led in scoring and put up career-highs.
-The last time the Mavericks won two straight games was in the 2020-21 season when Omaha beat Denver twice to close the regular season.

Up Next
The Mavericks will play at Mississippi State Monday. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m.