OMAHA, Neb. - For the second time this season Frankie Fidler called game at the buzzer. This time Fidler upset the Denver Pioneers with a three-pointer helping Omaha to a 72-69 win on senior night. The freshman forward finished the game on an 11-0 run and led all-scorers with 22 points.

The Mavericks improve to 5-22 overall and 4-12 in league play.

Omaha Leaders
Fidler scored 22 points on 8-of-19 from the field. He sank two threes and missed the double-double with nine boards. Akol Arop led with 10 rebounds and three steals.

Darrius Hughes added 14 points off the bench, while Nick Ferrarini and Marco Smith added 11 points each. Three players tallied three assists each.

Denver Leaders
Corban Porter and KJ Hunt led the Pioneers with 16 points each. Porter hit three from deep, while Hunt finished 7-of-17 from the field. Michael Henn added 13 points.

Touko Tainamo grabbed a game-high 11 boards. Hunt had five assists.

Team Stats
Omaha shot 40.9 percent from the field to Denver's 42.4 percent. The Mavericks hit nine three-pointers, while the Pioneers put eight away.

The Maverick bench scored 28 points to edge Denver's 12. Omaha also outscored Denver in the paint 32-30. The Mavericks dominated the glass, 47-31.

Inside the First Half
Omaha controlled much of the first half gaining an 10-3 lead over the first six minutes. Smith opened the action with back-to-back three-pointers to spark the early Omaha run. Felix Lemetti and Fidler capped it with back-to-back buckets in the paint. A dunk from Hughes with 8:16 left on the clock gave the Maverick an eight-point lead.

Neither team would connect over the next four minutes. Hunt's jumper under the five minute mark broke the scoreless streak, but Ferrarini answered right back with a three-pointer to give Omaha its largest lead of the half. Tainamo matched with a three on the other end of the court sparking a 7-0 run to get the Pioneers within two of the Mavericks. Smith and Fidler closed the half with two straight baskets to give Omaha a 29-23 advantage at the half.

Inside the Second Half
The Pioneers found their groove out of the break with two consecutive three-pointers to knot the game 29-29. They continued their run with a layup from Henn at the 18:35 mark to take their first lead of the game. The next two minutes saw three lead changes, but a free throw from Porter with 16:09 on the clock swung momentum in Denver's favor. Hunt's three with 14:33 on the clock gave the Pioneers a five-point lead, but Hughes, Sam'i Roe, and Arop combined to retake a 45-41 edge with 12:19 to play.

With 8:13 on the clock, Denver regained a lead. They opened the lead to eight-points on a layup from Taniamo with 2:58 to play before Fidler ignited from the field. The freshman forward closed the game with an 11-0 solo run to win the game. He opened the run with back-to-back layups and a three-point play to cut the lead to three-points. Arop then stepped up on defense making a clutch steal and finding an open Fidler for a three to tie the game 69-69. Hunt missed a layup on the other end where Fidler found the rebound. He took it down court and tossed up the three and beat two defenders for the shot to win the game, 72-69.

Game Notes
-This marks Fidler's second buzzer beater of the season. He did it vs. Kansas City late January.
-Thursday marks the first time in 11 games the Mavericks led at the half.
-Fidler has scored 20+ points in five games this season. It marks his 16th double-figure performance of the year.
-Hughes has 13 10+ point games this season, while Ferrarini has 12 and Smith eight.
-Omaha honored seniors Wanjang Tut and Smith prior to tipoff.

Up Next
The Mavericks take their final road trip of the season next week. First up, Omaha will play at Western Illinois on Thursday, February 24 at 7 p.m.

Gary Sharp will have the call on 1180 KZOT, and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.