UNO Streak Ends in 92-78 Loss at Missouri Southern

Wednesday, February 23

Joplin, MO.

7:30 PM

Omaha

Missouri Southern

UNO Streak Ends in 92-78 Loss at Missouri Southern

Feb 23, 2011 | General, Men's Basketball

By: Omaha Athletics

Boxscore

JOPLIN, Mo. – The UNO men's basketball saw its seven-game win streak end at the hands of Missouri Southern on Wednesday night, falling 92-78 to the league-leading Lions. With the loss, the Mavericks are now 17-8 (14-7 MIAA), while MSSU improves to 22-3 (18-3 MIAA).

Missouri Southern, which had already earned the top seed for the MIAA Tournament, clinched the outright regular-season championship with the victory.

UNO also had a win streak of seven conference road games in place since Jan. 2, and it was the longest road streak in league play of any team in the MIAA this season.

Nebraska-Omaha was led by 16 points from senior guard #Tyler Bullock# on 7-for-13 shooting, while senior guard #Torrian Harris# (15) and junior guard #Mitch Albers# (12) joined him in double-figure scoring. Harris also pulled down seven rebounds, and sophomore forward #Alex Welhouse finished with nine points and six boards. Senior Jeff Martin# was the Mavericks' threat from behind the arc, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring nine points over a 15-minute span.

Southern was topped by three scorers over 20 points, led by Jason Adams' 29-point effort on 11-for-16 shooting with four treys. Keane Thomann recorded 22 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, while Skyler Bowlin had 21 points and 10 assists.

As a team, UNO shot 44 percent from the field to Missouri Southern's 56 percent from the floor for the night.

“Missouri Southern is tough to beat,” Head Coach #Derrin Hansen# said. “They're the deepest team in the league. Their depth and athleticism are really good, and their pressure is relentless for 40 minutes. They're a good basketball team – the top team in the conference – and they've shown that this season.”

UNO took a 2-0 lead to open the game, but MSSU stormed back with 10 unanswered points to take control early. Despite nine points apiece from Harris and Welhouse in the first half, the Mavericks were forced to play catch up for the remainder of the game, as they threatened but ultimately never led again. Missouri Southern was helped by 12 points from both Thomann and Adams and a trio of 3-pointers by Bowlin, taking a 44-39 advantage by halftime.

In the second half, the Mavericks cut the score to 55-51, but MSSU took it from there to maintain a consistent double-figure lead for the last 10 minutes of the game. The Lions shot 60 percent to UNO's 39 percent in the second half, grabbing the 92-78 win and the MIAA regular-season championship.

UNO returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 26, hosting Pittsburg State in the final regular-season contest of the year. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse, and the contest also marks Senior Day for UNO. Postgame festivities will honor the Mavericks' five seniors – Tyler Bullock, Torrian Harris, Jeff Martin Matt Starks and Aaron Terry.

“We have five great seniors,” Hansen said. “They're going to be remembered not only for their abilities on the court, but also for the people they are and teammates they've been. We're looking forward to sending them out with a great game on Saturday.”