GRAND FORKS, N.D. - In the first game of the new year, the Mavericks got off on the right foot as they defeated North Dakota 95-85 on the road in the Summit League opener.
Omaha moves to 7-9 overall and 1-0 in conference play to begin 2025, while the Fighting Hawks slip to 6-10 with an 0-1 conference mark.
Leaders for Omaha
After leading the team with 27 points and pulling down seven rebounds,
Marquel Sutton is on the cusp of reaching 1000 career points and 500 rebounds as he ends the night with 996 points and 481 boards.
In total four Mavericks were in double figures tonight, with
Tony Osburn also reaching 20, followed by
Kamryn Thomas (13), and
JJ White (12). Osburn and Thomas each made three from behind the arc, while White led the team with six assists.
Team Stats
Omaha beat the Fighting Hawks in every category tonight, topping them from the floor at 57.1% (32-for-56) to 44.3% (27-for-61), behind the arc at 50.0% (10-for-20) to 28.1% (9-for-32), and at the line at 77.8% (21-for-27) to 73.3% (22-for-30).
Once again the Mavericks did a lot of scoring from short with 40 points in the paint.
In rebounding, Omaha was just barely edged out 35-34.
Inside the First Half
Beginning the night on a 7-0 run, the Mavericks got off to one of their fastest starts of the season as they led the entire first half. The barrage was led by Sutton who tallied 10 points through the first five minutes. After the Fighting Hawks got back within one with just over 14 minutes to go, a 12-4 Omaha run that saw five Mavericks score put them back up 24-16 at the nine-minute mark.
The lead soon grew to double digits when Thomas and White drained back-to-back threes within 45 seconds of each other to make it 30-18 at 7:31. Both teams went basket for basket for the rest of the half, with a three from Osburn and one from the line from Sutton giving Omaha its largest lead yet at 45-32 with less than a minute to go.
Inside the Second Half
Omaha got off to a comparatively slower start in the second, scoring just six points through the first five as UND cut the lead down to five at 51-46. White, though, provided a huge spark for Omaha with the play of the night when he picked up a steal and took it all the way for his first career dunk. With nine combined points from
Ja'Sean Glover and Sutton followed by a steal and a three from Osburn, Omaha found itself leading 67-56 with under 10 minutes left.
Threes from White and Thomas helped keep Omaha in front by double figures heading into the final five minutes. From there, the Mavericks put on a masterclass in the paint to keep the Fighting Hawks from getting the ball back, at one point pulling down six offensive rebounds in two minutes. Osburn would later deliver the final blow with his third three-pointer of the night, followed by two from the line to put Omaha over 90 points en route to victory.
Game Notes
- With his third straight game with 20+ points, Sutton now has eight such games on the season.
- As for Osburn, this is his third game of the year scoring at least 20 and the fourth of his career.
- Omaha's 32 field goals tonight are a new season high, while its FG% and 3-PT FG% are both the second highest of the year.
Up Next
The Mavericks finish off their North Dakota road trip on Saturday when they head down to Fargo to face North Dakota State in a 1 p.m. tip-off.
