PORTLAND, Ore. - Omaha Men's Basketball picked up their first road win of the season Saturday in what could be a turning-point moment in the Mavericks' season.
Short-handed Omaha used a strong defensive effort in knocking off Portland State 60-55 in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. Portland State (5-3) had its 14-game home winning streak which was tied for the ninth longest in the country coming into Saturday.
Omaha (4-7), which suited up just nine players due to injuries, was led by senior
Ja'Sean Glover with 15 points and nine rebounds and he played with four fouls for the final nine minutes. It was a big week for Glover as he had scored a career-high 26 points on Wednesday against Northern Colorado.
Lance Waddles added 12 points as he hit a 3-pointer with 4:45 left to give Omaha the lead for good.
Christian Richardson chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. Omaha finished with a 36-29 edge in rebounding.
Saturday marked the first time since 2020 that Omaha won a game when it scored 60 or fewer points. Being short-handed, Omaha played at more deliberate offensive pace.
"The guys did an unbelievable job of understanding what the game plan was," head coach
Chris Crutchfield said. "We kept (Portland State) out of the paint."
Omaha trailed 17-13 before scoring eight straight. The Mavericks held a narrow lead most of the way after that.
Glover started the 8-0 run with a jumper, then Richardson tied it with a dunk and then Waddles made a pair of layups.
Omaha's lead grew to 26-20 on
Julian Margrave's second 3-pointer on the day, then Glover hit two free throws with 20 seconds left in the half to make it 30-22. That would be the biggest lead of the game.
Portland State made a 3-pointer just before halftime buzzer to make it 30-25. Omaha went more than six minutes without a field goal midway through the second half before Richardson ended that stretch with a dunk for a 49-47 lead with 6:30 left.
At 49-49, Waddles hit a three from the left corner with 4:45 left to give Omaha the lead for good.
"Lance's three from the corner was huge," Crutchfield said.
Omaha's lead was 54-50 on two Glover free throws with 4:08 left, then Glover's layup on a strong drive to the basket made it 56-51 at the 2:35 mark.
Portland State pulled within 56-53, but
Khamani Cooper and Glover each hit two free throws in the final 22 seconds to secure the road win.
Omaha returns home to face Doane on Tuesday night at Baxter Arena at 7 p.m. CT live on the Summit League Network. Gary Sharp has the call on 1290 KOIL and the Varsity Network.
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