UNO Men lose to Austin Peay in Florida

UNO Men lose to Austin Peay in Florida
November 25th, 2020 | Beth Rogers

ESTERO, Fla. — The Omaha mens basketball team opened the 2020-21 season Wednesday afternoon at the #BeachBubble at the Gulf Coast Showcase, falling 72-66 to Austin Peay at Hertz Arena.

Leaders for Omaha
Marlon Ruffin opened his junior campaign with a bang, posting a team-high 20 points off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting and a pair of threes. Fourteen of those points came in the second half alone for the defending Summit League Sixth Man of the Year.

Marco Smith made his Maverick debut with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Matt Pile finished with a game-high 14 rebounds — including six on the offensive end — alongside six points and a block.

A trio of players also made noise in their debuts: LaMel Robinson (seven points), Devin Evans (six) and Sami Roe (five).

Leaders for Austin Peay
Terry Taylor, the defending OVC Player of the Year, had just seven points in the first half but finished with a team-high 21, along with 12 rebounds.

Jordyn Adams added 18 points, and Reginald Gee had another 14. Carlos Paez finished with nine assists.

Team Stats
Omaha shot 43% (26-of-61) from the field, struggling from deep at just 25% (3-of-12) and at the line at 58% (11-of-19).

Austin Peay finished at 44% (25-of-57) for the afternoon, hitting at a 60% (15-of-25) clip in the second half.

Omaha and APSU finished with an identical 36 rebounds apiece and committed a combined 38 turnovers.

Inside the First Half
A sloppy start saw the Mavericks with 14 giveaways.

APSU used a 10-2 run to take a 26-14 lead, but a Smith lay-in stopped it by the under-four timeout. Omaha countered late with a 12-0 run of its own to tie the game at 26-26. By the break, they trailed by one.

Pile pulled down 10 boards in the first half, and Smith and Ruffin each had six points.

Inside the Second Half
After a Wanjang Tut jumper tied the game again at 29-29 in the opening minutes, Adams scored eight points to start a 12-0 Governor run that put them up 41-29. A Ruffin free throw at 45-36 later got Omaha back within nine.

The Mavericks trailed by as many as 17 as they went without a three, but the drought finally ended when Robinson got one to fall with 5:38 left.

Ruffin provided a spark late, helping Omaha fight back from the double-digit deficit in the final four minutes. He banged a corner three to bring Omaha with six, 66-60.

Following a Smith layup, Ruffin canned another triple to make it a five-point game at 70-65 with 15 seconds to go. But the effort came up just short, as Omaha fell 72-66.

Up Next
Omaha squares off with Middle Tennessee on Thanksgiving Day at 10 a.m. CT in Estero, Fla.

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