SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - In their penultimate road game of 2023, the Mavericks could not comeback from an early deficit and were defeated 66-53 by Cal Poly.

Omaha is now 6-7 on the year, while the Mustangs snap a four-game skid to get to 4-8.

Leaders for Omaha 
Frankie Fidler and Biko Johnson were Omaha's lone double-digit scorers tonight, as Fidler went 7-for-16 for 18 points and Johnson shot 3-for-4 from deep to finish with 14 points. Fidler was also tied with Marcel Bryant for the team lead in rebounds with eight. 

Leaders for Cal Poly
The Mustangs also had two players top double-digits today, led by Kobe Sanders with 30 as he shot 10-for-16. On defense, Joel Armotrading paced Cal Poly with nine total rebounds, while his two blocks were second to only Sanders who had three.

Team Stats 
Cal Poly outshot Omaha in every category tonight, besting them in FG% (41.4% to 33.9%), 3-PT FG% (29.2% to 18.8%), and FT% (78.6% to 57.1%). The Mavericks did manage to out-rebound the Mustangs at 42-39, as well as leading them in second-chance points (17 to 11), points in the paint (32 to 22), and bench scoring (26 to 6).

Inside the First Half 
As has been the case in many of Omaha's games this season, the defense shined early on as Marquel Sutton and Nick Davis each blocked a shot and pulled down a pair of defensive boards within the first 10 minutes to keep it a four-point game. On offense, Fidler had over half of the Mavericks' 11 points halfway through the period, shooting 3-for-6.

After the Mustangs began to pull away in the second half of the period, a floater from JJ White at 7:35 and a coast-to-coast layup from Johnson a minute later cut the deficit to six at 21-15. Over the final six minutes, though, Cal Poly went on a run and outscored Omaha 14-6 as the Mavericks trailed by 14 at the half.

Inside the Second Half 
Omaha opened scoring in the second half on a free throw from Osburn 30 seconds in. Sutton would follow this up a few seconds later as he snagged a defensive board and took it up the court to make the put-back after grabbing his own rebound.

Despite two more baskets from behind the arc from Johnson and eight more points from Fidler, the Mavericks could not slow down the Mustangs as the closest they got for the remainder of the game was 10 points. 

Game Notes 
- After entering the week with a single-game high of four points, Johnson now has back-to-back double-digit scoring games.
- Fidler extended his double-digit scoring streak to seven games as he logged his 11th of the season.
- Bryant's eight rebounds tonight are three more than his previous season high. 

Up Next 
The Mavericks will get the weekend off as they return to action next Friday at 7 p.m. when they open Summit League play against Denver at Baxter Arena in their final match before the new year.