OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha's season came to an end Saturday night after battling the No. 1 seeded South Dakota State team in the Summit League quarterfinals. Frankie Fidler scored 34, but it would fall short as the Jackrabbits took an 87-79 win to advance to the semifinals.
 
The Mavericks finished the year 5-25 overall and 4-14 in Summit League action.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Fidler's 34 points led all-scorers Saturday. He was 11-of-18 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. He also finished 9-of-10 from the foul line. Felix Lemetti scored 13 points, while Akol Arop added 10.
 
Arop led the Mavericks with seven boards, while Lemetti dished out five assists. Dylan Brougham tallied two steals, while Sam'i Roe had Omaha's only block of the game.
 
Leaders for South Dakota State
Douglas Wilson led the Jackrabbits with 22 points on 7-of-14 from the field and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Baylor Scheierman added 20 points on 6-of-12 from the field with four three-pointers.
 
Alex Arians grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Sheierman recorded five assists. Charlies Easley nabbed three steals.
 
Team Stats
The Mavericks shot over 52 percent from the field. They went 8-of-15 from the arc and 11-of-13 from the foul line. The Jackrabbits shot 47.4 percent from the field making two less buckets than Omaha. She went 8-of-17 from deep and 25-of-33 from the free throw line.
 
Both teams battled inside scoring 38 points each in the paint. The SDSU bench stepped up big for the Jackrabbits scoring 25 points to Omaha's six bench points.
 
Inside the First Half
The Mavericks tested the Jackrabbits in the first half of action putting the pressure on early. Out of the jump ball, Fidler scored the first five points for an early Omaha lead. SDSU scored the next seven straight points for the first of 11 lead changes in the first half.
 
Midway through the half the Mavericks went on a 10-2 run sparked by Roe driving in for a layup to knot the game 20-20. Lemetti then scored the next eight Omaha points, which included back-to-back three-pointers at the 8:12 mark for a 28-22 lead. With just over two to play, Wilson tied the game 40-40 and momentum swung in the Jackrabbits favor. They scored another five straight points and ended the half with a Scheierman three-pointer for a 48-42 lead.
 
Inside the Second Half
Out of the break, SDSU managed to extend its lead to double-figures at the foul line. Wilson and Scheierman went 4-for-4 in the opening minute for a 10-point lead. Luke Appel helped SDSU to a 13-point lead a few minutes later with a layup and free throw. Darrius Hughes and Fidler combined for six straight points with Fidler's jumper at the 11:45 mark narrowing the lead to seven, 71-54.
 
Four Jackrabbits found their offensive stride down the stretch as SDSU opened the lead back to 14. Free throws from Matt Mims and Matt Dentlinger near the five-minute mark led the Jackrabbits to their largest lead of the night at 17. They'd lead by that much on two more occasions before a layup from Lemetti with 2:44 on the clock sparked a 10-2 Omaha run. Fidler and Lemetti each hit a three, while Brougham's layup with 37 seconds left to play cut the lead to nine. Despite the late effort, the Mavericks fell, 87-79.
 
Noting Tonight's Game
-This marked the seventh straight Summit League Tournament appearance for the Mavericks.
-Fidler's 34 points was just one point shy of tying the Summit League freshman record in a tournament game.
-It was his second game this season surpassing the 30-point mark and 19^th double-figure performance of the season.