OMAHA, Neb. - Omaha Men's Basketball couldn't overcome a cold shooting night from outside the paint as South Dakota pulled out a 68-64 win Wednesday night at Baxter Arena.
It was the second straight home game that was decided in the final seconds. On Jan. 10, North Dakota State made the game-winning layup at the buzzer.
Paul Djobet led Omaha with 22 points and seven rebounds, but no other Maverick was in double figures. Omaha overall shot 44.6 percent from the field, but it finished 1 of 19 on 3-pointers and in the second half were 7 of 14 from the foul line.
Omaha (9-12, 2-4 Summit) still had an opportunity to force overtime. Trailing 67-64, Omaha had possession following a timeout with 6.7 seconds left. Djobet attempted a 3 from the left wing that rattled in and out. South Dakota added a free throw with 1.9 seconds left.
It was the first road win of the season for South Dakota (11-10, 3-3).
South Dakota came into Wednesday as one of the top scoring teams in the Summit League, averaging 83.1 points per game. The Coyotes averaged 82.3 points in three games against the Mavericks last season.
But Wednesday, Omaha set an early tone with its defense.
Omaha held South Dakota scoreless on its first 10 possessions as the Coyotes were 0 of 7 from the field and committed five turnovers. USD's first points didn't come until the 13:10 mark.
And while Omaha led throughout the first half, the Mavericks couldn't find an offensive rhythm.
Omaha's biggest lead on the night was 18-8 on a Djobet putback at the 8:20 mark in the first half.
USD pulled within 29-28 at halftime then it grabbed its first lead in the opening minute of the second half. There were 15 lead changes in the first 16 minutes of the second half. Omaha was up 55-54 when USD's Jordan Crawford, who scored a game-high 27, hit his fourth three of the second half with 4:15 left. South Dakota never surrendered the lead after that.
The Coyotes extended its margin to five points on three occasions after that, all three times on baskets in the paint by 7-foot center Cameron Fens.
Omaha pulled within two twice, the final time on a Djobet putback with 21.5 seconds left to make it 66-64. But that's as close as it got.
Besides Djobet,
Tony Osburn was next for Omaha with eight points, while
Grant Stubblefield and Chris Richardson added seven each.
Omaha is back on the road Saturday at 7 p.m. CT, playing at Kansas City.
