Mavs Surge to 83-70 Win Over Truman

Wednesday, January 5

Omaha, Neb.

7:30 PM

Omaha

Truman State

Mavs Surge to 83-70 Win Over Truman

Jan 5, 2011 | General, Men's Basketball

By: Omaha Athletics

Boxscore

OMAHA, Neb. – The UNO men's basketball team used a resurgent second half to grab its fourth straight win, defeating Truman 83-70 at Sapp Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. With the victory, the Mavericks improve to 7-4 (4-3 MIAA), while the Bulldogs drop to 3-8 (1-6 MIAA).

Junior guard Mitch Albers led the way with 24 points, highlighted by four 3-pointers. Albers has topped the Mavs offensively in double-digit scoring in five consecutive games.

Senior guard Tyler Bullock joined Albers with 21 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Torrian Harris had his second career double-double off 11 points and a career-best 11 boards, in addition to a team-leading six assists and four blocks. Sophomore forward Alex Welhouse also finished in double figures, notching 13 points on a 4-for-6 shooting performance from the field.

Defensively, redshirt freshman John Karhoff had nine rebounds, and Welhouse and senior guard Aaron Terry each tallied five.

Truman took a commanding 25-8 advantage 10 minutes in, bolstered by 11 points by Ethan Freeman. The Mavericks then went on a 12-0 run to bring the score to 25-20, and a 3-pointer by freshman guard Caleb Steffensmeier with five minutes to go cut the Bulldogs' lead to just one.

TSU kept UNO at bay until Albers hit a triple to put the 31-30 tally in the Mavs' favor, and a layup by Bullock extended the lead. The Bulldogs hit three pairs of free throws, and Isaac Gardener banked in his third 3-pointer of the half to put Truman up 39-35 by halftime.

Nebraska-Omaha tied it up at 44-all when Welhouse worked inside for a layup and hit a charity shot to go up by one. TSU's Tom Norton chipped in a three, but Welhouse came back with one of his own, coupled with a fastbreak layup, at 54-47. Welhouse later spun inside for a shot and drew a foul from Freeman, hitting a free throw to make it 57-49, and it was Welhouse's seven straight points that sparked the UNO effort. All 13 of his points came in the second half.

Albers scored 13 of his 16 second-half points in the remaining minutes, and a fast-break dunk off a steal by Harris gave UNO its largest lead of the game with a margin of 18. The Mavs, who held Truman to 39 percent shooting in the second stanza – compared to their own 49 percent – finished it off at 83-70 for their fourth consecutive league win.

UNO returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 8, hitting the road for Central Missouri. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at UCM's Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.