OMAHA, Neb. - In their 100th game at Baxter Arena, the Mavericks picked up another home victory as they defeated Stetson 88-80 on Sunday. Omaha is now 63-37 at home since moving to Baxter.
Omaha is back at .500 on the year at 6-6 and remains a perfect 5-0 at home, while the Hatters slip to 6-5.
Leaders for Omaha
For the second time this season, five Mavericks scored double-digits, led by
Frankie Fidler and
Nick Davis with 19 each. Fidler shot 5-for-7 from the field and had another strong day from the stripe at 6-for-6, while Davis went 7-for-8 overall.
Marquel Sutton totaled 15 points today and
JJ White had 11, as both were tied with Davis for the team lead in rebounds with seven. Sutton also had a career-high three blocks today.
The most notable of today's scorers was
Biko Johnson, who went 10-for-10 on free throws to finish with a season-high 15 as he reached double-digits for the first time in his career, as well as leading Omaha with two steals.
Leaders for Stetson
Two Hatters topped 20 points today as Jalen Blackmon led all players with 26 after shooting 8-for-16, with Stephan Swenson was right behind with 23 points after going 7-for-12. Blackmon also led the team with three steals and Swenson was first in rebounds with six.
Team Stats
Today marked the second time Omaha shot at least 50% as a team as the Mavericks led Stetson 52.1% to 43.3%. The Hatters, though, held small leads in three-point percentage (41.7% to 35.7%) and free throw percentage (85.7% to 82.5%). The Maverick did, however, hold a huge lead in free throws made at 33 to 18. Omaha's bench significantly outscored Stetson's at 31 points to just four. The Mavericks also outrebounded them at 37 to 25.
Inside the First Half
Initially trailing Stetson 13-3 through the first four minutes, it was all Omaha the rest of the day as they outscored the Hatters 35-28 in the first half alone. The Mavericks would eventually take their first lead with 7:26 remaining after going 8-for-8 on free throws, including four from Johnson. Fidler also made a pair in addition to the team's first three-pointer at 11:29.
Fidler and Sutton provided the bulk of the scoring over the final seven minutes, as the former added seven more points on a put back at 3:38 and another three at 2:19, as the latter also scored seven on two from the stripe followed by a dunk and a triple to make it 38-38 with 27 seconds left.
Inside the Second Half
Four and a half minutes in, the Hatters went back up by six after eight quick points from Blackmon. Fortunately, the scales would tip in Omaha's favor for the rest of the half. Six points from White over the next three minutes put the Mavericks in front for good at 12:25 as he jump-started a 12-0 scoring run that lasted until 8:59, ending with a 67-57 Mavericks lead. Davis and Johnson each scored four more points during the run, while back-to-back blocks from Sutton and
Tony Osburn at 10:27 and 10:17 kept the Hatters off the board.
Over the final 10 minutes, Omaha would go 19-for-20 on free throws to hold off a late comeback attempt from the Hatters who at one point scored eight in a row, but could not keep the Mavericks from scoring for long.
Game Notes
- Omaha's 33 free throws made are the program's most since making 37 at South Dakota on February 7, 2019. Likewise, the team's 40 free throw attempts are their most since attempting 42 vs. Montana back on December 21, 2019.
- Today is the sixth time this year Omaha has outrebounded the other team.
- Fidler now has 1025 career points, bringing him to 38th all-time in program history.
Up Next
The Mavericks have one more game before the holidays begin as they head out west to San Luis Obispo, California for a game at Cal Poly on Thursday, December 21, at 7 p.m. (pst)/9 p.m. (cst).
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