OMAHA, Neb. - In a game that featured 15 lead changes and eight ties, Northern Colorado held off Omaha Men's Basketball down the stretch for a 75-70 win Wednesday night at Baxter Arena.
The result spoiled a huge night from senior
Ja'Sean Glover, who finished with a career-high 26 points for the Mavs.
Lance Waddles added 19 points and seven rebounds.
It was the fifth straight win for Northern Colorado (8-1), while Omaha (3-7) saw its 13-game home winning streak snapped. Omaha suited up just nine players.
Northern Colorado entered Wednesday averaging 88.8 points per game while shooting 50.2 percent from the field. Its only loss is a one-point defeat to St. Thomas of the Summit League.
Head coach
Chris Crutchfield said he liked the pace the Mavericks played at, but Northern Colorado "hit some big shots at the end."
The Mavericks played the Bears close the entire way as neither team ever led by more than six points.
Northern Colorado grabbed a 36-30 lead when it made two free throws at the 1:05 mark of the first half, but Omaha answered when Waddles hit his third 3-pointer of the half with a transition trey from the right wing to make it 36-33 at halftime.
Glover carried the Omaha offense for most of the opening half as he hit two threes and also drove to the paint for four field goals around the basket. During a 13-minute span in the opening half, Glover scored 15 of Omaha's 22 points.
Omaha outscored Northern Colorado 10-2 in the first five minutes of the second half, grabbing a 43-38 lead on another three from Waddles, this one from the right corner. Northern Colorado missed nine of its first 10 shots from the field in the second half, but the Bears went 13 of 21 from the field the rest of the way.
The Bears moved back in front 59-56 with five minutes left.
Omaha scored on its next two possessions, the second on a tough drive to the basket by Glover. That gave the Mavs their last lead of the night, 60-59 with 4:15 left.
Northern Colorado took the lead for good when Brock Wisne hit a transition three with 3:15 left to make it 65-62.
Omaha was within 72-70 after a Waddles free throw with 38 seconds left, but on their next possession, Northern Colorado's Ibu Yamazaki hit a three with 11.6 seconds left to secure the win.
Besides Glover and Waddles, Omaha got a boost off the bench from local freshman
Brock Scholl, who finished with nine points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
Omaha continues play in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge with a game at Portland State on Saturday.
