OMAHA, Neb. – Luke Jungers erupted for 17 second-half points to finish the game with a career-high 20 points. His career-night helped Omaha to an 83-66 win over Denver in the Summit League opener.
 
The Mavericks improve to 5-8 overall, 1-0 in the Summit League.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Jungers was 7-of 13 from the field with five three-pointers helping him to a new personal best 20 points to lead Omaha. JJ White matched his career-high with 18 points. He was 5-of-9 from the field and made an impact at the line shooting 8-of-9. Frankie Fidler also notched double-figures with 16 points. He was 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep.
 
White and Fidler both tallied career-highs in assists. White dished out eight, while Fidler added seven. Fidler and Ja'Sean Glover both grabbed a team-high five boards, while Fidler also led Omaha with three steals.
 
Leaders for Denver
Denver had five Pioneers in double-figures Monday night. Tommy Bruner and Justin Mullins recorded 15 each to lead the team. Mullins hit a team-high three from deep for the Pioneers. Tyree Corbett added 11 points on 5-of-12 from the field and recorded a game-high seven boards.
 
Touko Tainamo and Lukas Kisunas scored 10 points each. Kisunas dealt out four assists to lead Denver.
 
Team Stats
The Mavericks shot 50 percent from the field, while the Pioneers hit 52 percent of their attempts. Omaha edged Denver from the arc shooting 42.9 percent to Denver's 38.5 percent. Omaha also out-rebounded Denver, 33-26.
 
Eleven of those 33 rebounds came on the offensive glass, and Omaha turned them into 18 second-chance points. Omaha also converted 15 Denver turnovers into 21 points. The Mavericks led on the fast break (18-6) and off the bench (34-16). The Pioneers narrowly led in points in the paint (38-36).
 
Inside the First Half
The game started with back-and-forth action on the first four possessions leading to an early 4-4 tie, but Denver put together a 9-0 run for a 13-4 lead at the 17:11 mark forcing an Omaha timeout. Akol Arop entered the game and had back-to-back buckets in the paint to provide the Mavericks with a spark. Less than three minutes later, Kyle Luedtke hit a three-pointer to cut the Denver lead down to two. Luedtke's three was matched down the floor by Mullins, which led the Pioneers on another 8-0 run for a 10-point lead with 11:01 on the clock.
 
Out of a media timeout at the 9:58 mark, the Mavericks slowly began to chip away at the Denver lead. White converted two at the line, while Arop scored four straight marking it 25-23 with just over eight to play. The Pioneers got their lead back up to six points twice more, but six straight points from Fidler knotted the game 37-37 at the half.
 
Inside the Second Half
Tony Osburn opened the second half going coast to coast for a quick two points for Omaha, while the first four minutes of play saw three ties as the teams battled. Mullins completed a three-point play at the 14:45 mark helping Denver back to a four-point lead, while Tainamo kept it at four two minutes later. Jungers started to heat up hitting back-to-back three-pointers for Omaha swinging the lead in Omaha's favor with 11:36 on the clock. It sparked an 11-0 run for Omaha's largest lead yet of the night at seven points.
 
With six minutes to play, Mullins and Bruner scored five straight points for the Pioneers pulling within two of the Mavericks. It was the closest they'd get before Omaha began to pull away. Another Jungers' three-pointer gave the Mavericks some breathing room. He scored eight of Omaha's next 10 points. His three with 1:45 to go broke the lead into double-digits at 12 points. Four free throws by White and a three from Fidler in the final minutes helped lead Omaha to an 83-66 win over Denver.
 
Game Notes
-Jungers surpassed his career-high of 17 points tonight setting a new best of 20.
-Jungers is the fourth Maverick this season to notch 20 or more points in a game. Fidler, Sutton, and Luedtke each have one 20-point performance.
-White matched his career-high of 18 points that he set earlier this season at Drake.
-White and Fidler both edged their career-highs in assists by one tonight. White's new high is eight, while Fidler's is seven.
-This marks the second straight game Omaha has picked up over Denver in the series.
-Omaha's last league opening win came in the 2019-20 season against South Dakota State (81-78).
-The Mavericks have matched last year's win total (five) with 18 regular season games left on the schedule.
 
Up Next
Omaha closes non-conference action at Iowa State Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in Ames.