KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Despite a history making performance from
Frankie Fidler, the Mavericks could not hold off a late comeback as they fell 63-58 at Kansas City in the final Saturday night game of the regular season.
In what has already been a momentous year for the junior forward, Fidler added perhaps the most significant notch to his belt yet tonight as he set a new program record in the Division I era in single-season points, topping the 578 scored by Zach Jackson in 2018-19 with 593.
Still, even with Fidler's record-breaking stats, Omaha will drop to 14-16 overall and 7-8 in the Summit League, while the Roos (14-15, 8-7) grow their lead over the Mavericks in the standings.
Leaders for Omaha
Fidler racked up 29 points tonight with 13 coming from the charity stripe to lead the team. He also paced Omaha with seven rebounds and two steals.
Marquel Sutton and
Grant Stubblefield both scored double figures too, with Sutton at 11 and Stubblefield at 10.
Leaders for Kansas City
Jamar Brown led the Roos with 22 points on eight field goals and a team-high three from behind the arc. David Allen Mukeba was second with 14 points and the most blocks with two, followed by Jayson Petty with 11 points and a team-leading eight boards.
Team Stats
Both teams shot under 40% today, with Kansas City holding small lead at 39.6% to 36.2%. Omaha led the Roos from deep at 28.6% to 23.8%, but trailed in free throws as KC led 80.0% to 69.2%. The Roos also outrebounded Omaha 35 to 32.
Inside the First Half
The Mavericks got off to a blistering start, taking a 17-5 lead by the 12-minute mark. Fidler and Marshall each had six points during the first eight minutes, with the former getting a steal and taking it home for an easy dunk at 12:44, while the latter drained a pair of threes. The local kid Stubblefield capped off this run with a contested three at 12:13.
For the rest of the half, though, things completely flipped as the Roos took control of the game, outscoring the Mavericks 26-13. Stubblefield had four of Omaha's 13 points, while Fidler stayed hot and scored nine of them, including a three-point buzzer beater to not only get Omaha back within one at 31-30, but to officially break the scoring record in just one half.
Inside the Second Half
Thanks to consistent scoring from Fidler, Omaha was able to keep pace with the Roos throughout the second period. Initially giving Omaha a 35-33 lead to open the half with five free throws, Fidler made the team's first field goal of the period with a three at 13:54, scoring all eight Maverick points up to that point. This jump started a 12-0 scoring run for Omaha that saw Sutton score five, including a three of his own, while
Marcel Bryant got his first bucket of the day with a layup at 10:21 to give the Mavericks a 47-45 lead.
Both teams would trade leads for the next few minutes, with Fidler briefly breaking the stalemate with a dunk at 6:25 to make it 53-50. Though a couple of Roos free throws cut the lead to one, neither team would score over the next three minutes until a three-pointer from Brown put Kansas City back on top with less than three minutes to play.
Fidler, with his 12th and 13th free throws of the day, tied it at 55-55 a few seconds later, before Stubblefield made two of his own from the stripe to give Omaha a two-point lead with 1:30 remaining. After the Roos once again tied it with just a minute to play, Stubblefield went back to the line and put Omaha right back up by one, only for Kansas City to retake the lead for good this time with 20 seconds to go.
Game Notes
- Ending the night with 1436 career points and in eighth place on the all-time scoring list, Fidler will have one more game in the regular season plus at least one in the Summit League Tournament to reach 1458 points and move into seventh place on the leaderboard.
- Stubblefield now has four games this year with double-digit points.
- This is the eighth time Omaha has lost by five points or less.
Up Next
The Mavericks will conclude the regular season next Thursday at 7 p.m. on the road when they face off against St. Thomas.
