LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Facing their third straight team that qualified for a postseason tournament last year, the Mavericks UNLV tied it late but in the end could not finish of UNLV as they were defeated 80-69.
Omaha falls to 2-2 on the year, while the Runnin' Rebels improve to 2-1.
Leaders for Omaha
Ja'Sean Glover had a career night, setting career highs with 17 points and five three-pointers to lead the team.
Marquel Sutton went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe to finish the night with 16 points, while
Kamryn Thomas dropped 11 while pulling down a team-high six rebounds.
Team Stats
Both teams were relatively close in field goals as the Mavericks shot .426 (23-for-54) while the Runnin' Rebels went .456 (26-for-57). Omaha held a healthy lead in three-pointers at .357 (10-for-28) to .222 (4-for-18), but UNLV finished with a sizable lead in free throws at .960 (24-for-25) to .722 (13-for-18) for Omaha. The real difference maker proved to be turnovers as the Mavericks turned it over 19 times, leading to 30 points off turnovers for UNLV.
Meanwhile, Omaha again outrebounded the opposition 33 to 31.
Inside the First Half
The Mavericks got off to a blistering start in the first couple of minutes as a pair of threes from Glover quickly made it 9-2. After the Rebels cut the lead down to two, Sutton would regrow it to eight points as he came up with the steal and threw it down for a dunk to make it 15-7 with 15 minutes to go. A 6-0 run from UNLV would again make it a two-point game, but once again Omaha came right back an made it 20-13 with just over 12 to play following buckets from Thomas and
Joshua Streit.
Over the final 10 minutes of the half, momentum began to shift back to the Runnin' Raiders as they outscored the Mavericks 13-2 over the next five minutes to take a 24-22 lead. Another three from Thomas followed by a coast-to-coast bucket from
Grant Stubblefield briefly put Omaha back on top 27-26 with three minutes remaining, only for UNLV to rally late and ultimately send it to halftime with a 35-29 lead.
Inside the Second Half
Omaha got off to another hot start in the second as five points from Sutton helped tie the game 39-39 at 16:30. UNLV immediately retook the lead and later had a 6-0 and a 7-0 scoring run to go up 57-44 with 10 to play. Back-to-back-to-back threes from Glover and
JJ White made it a four-point game heading into the final eight minutes, before the fifth three-pointer of the night for Glover and three free throws from White and Sutton once again tied the game 63-63 with 4:43 remaining.
Unfortunately, the Mavericks could not keep up their momentum down the stretch as the Runnin' Rebels pulled away and outscored Omaha 17-6 en route to an 80-69 win.
Game Notes
- Glover's previous career high in 3-PT FGs was just two back in his rookie season, while his points record was 16, also in his freshman year.
- This is the third game this year that Omaha had four players score in double figures.
Up Next
The Mavericks conclude their second week on the road at Southern Utah on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (CT).
