DENVER — The Omaha mens basketball team dropped its second straight loss Saturday afternoon, falling 91-76 to Denver at Hamilton Gymnasium. The Mavericks are now 10-10 (3-2 Summit League), while the Pioneers, who snapped a 10-game losing streak, improve to 5-15 (1-5 Summit League).
Leaders for Omaha
KJ Robinson was the Mavericks leading scorer with his second straight 20-point performance. The senior finished with 23 on the day with 6-of-10 shooting, including four triples, along with three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Matt Pile just missed a double-double with 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds. JT Gibson and Marlon Ruffin added another 10 points apiece, with Ruffin grabbing five boards.
Leaders for Denver
Jase Townsend hit eight 3-pointers for the Pioneers, leading all scorers with a career-high 32 points. Ade Murkey had 19 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, and Robert Jones chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds.
Team Stats
Denver shot a season-high 54.5% (30-of-55), including 55.0% (11-of-20) from long range. Omaha came in at 36.2% (25-of-69) from the floor and 28.6% (8-of-28) from deep.
The Mavericks outrebounded DU 37-35, including 17-8 on the offensive end.
Inside the First Half
A pair of Robinson threes spurred an early 12-0 run, which put Omaha ahead 14-8. The Mavericks held their last lead at 24-23 before Denver countered with a 14-2 run to go up 37-26 with two minutes to the break.
Omaha was 2-of-10 from the floor in the final seven minute and led for just 5:01 of the first stanza.
Led by 13 points from Townsend and 12 from Murkey, the Pioneers shot 53.8% (14-of-26) for the half. Robinson (11) and Pile (10) were both in double figures within the first 20 minutes for the Mavericks.
Inside the Second Half
DU opened the second half 5-of-6 from deep and built its largest lead of 17 at 71-54 with 6:44 to go. Robinson and Wanjang Tut combined forces for an 11-0 run from there, which cut the deficit to six, but the Mavericks would get no closer as DU held on for its first league win.
Noting Todays Game
-Denver leads the all-time series with Omaha, 9-7.
-The Pioneers have a 5-3 advantage in Denver since 2012-13.
–JT Gibson has scored in double figures in six straight games. Marlon Ruffin has four straight performances in double digits.
-Today marked the second time this season that Omaha has had two 20-point scorers on the same day.
–KJ Robinson has hit four 3-pointers in three straight games.
Up Next
Omaha begins a four-game home stand next Thursday, Jan. 23 with Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena.
DENVER, Colo. – The Omaha womens basketball program dropped a hard-fought road contest to the Denver Pioneers, 66-60, Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Gym.
The Mavericks fall to 6-12 overall and 1-4 in league play as the Pioneers improve to 8-11 and 2-4 in Summit League action.
NOTES
- Mariah Murdies team-high 16 points marks her eighth double-digit scoring game on the season.
- Omaha falls to 0-7 on the road and falls to 3-3 in games decided by 5-10 points.
- The game saw 11 lead changes and six ties.
- Omahas largest lead of the game was four at the 7:23 mark left in the fourth quarter.
- The Mavericks led for a total of 5:45 in the game.
LEADERS FOR OMAHA
Murdie paced the Mavericks with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Claire Killian also had double figures with 12 points, while Josie Filer followed with eight on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting and 2-for-2 from three.
LEADERS FOR DENVER
Madison Nelson scored a game-high 33 points and 11 rebounds. Uju Ezeudu scored 12 points with nine rebounds.
TEAM STATS
The Mavericks went 23-of-63 from the floor (36.5%), 7-for-23 from deep (30.4%) and 7-for-10 from the charity stripe. Omahas 70% from the line marked the first time in three contests that the team shot under 90% from the line. Denver went 22-for-65 (33.8%) total, 4-of-18 from three (22.2%) and 18-of-26 (69.2%) at the line.
Omaha was out-rebounded 46-43 by the Pioneers and had 19 turnovers to Denvers 16. Omaha won the battle of bench points 18-11.
INSIDE THE FIRST HALF
At the first media timeout, Omaha trailed by six. The Mavericks, however, cut the deficit to just 15-13 after one quarter of play after an 8-2 run in the final five minutes in the frame. Omaha regained the lead at the 3:45 mark in the second after an Elena Pilakouta layup. That preceded a big three by Filer, which put the Mavericks ahead 27-26 with 1:53 to go in the half. The Pioneers, however, pulled out ahead 32-29 after two quarters of play.
INSIDE THE SECOND HALF
A neck-and-neck game saw Denver go up early. The Mavericks cut the deficit to just one (39-38) after Ogier was found wide open on a backdoor cut with 4:51 to go in the third. Denver still led 44-42 heading into the fourth. Back-to-back Murdie threes and a bucket gave the Mavericks a two-point lead with eight minutes to go in the game. Denver, however, went on a late surge and led by three with under a minute to go. With 33 seconds to go, Denver turned the ball over and gave the Mavericks a chance to win. Two late threes by Killian and Murdie were not able to fall and the team was forced to foul. Denver sealed the game with a pair of late free throws for the six-point win.
LOOKING AHEAD
Omaha returns home for a pair of games next week against Western Illinois and Purdue Fort Wayne. The Mavericks square off against the Leathernecks Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. and follow up with a Sunday, Jan. 26, game against the Mastodons at 2 p.m.
