Mavericks Fall Short at Air Force, 77-61

Monday, December 8

USAF Academy, Colo.

8:00 PM

Omaha

3-4

Air Force

5-3

Team	1	2	F
Omaha	30	31	61
Air Force Falcons	37	40	77

Stats Notes

Mavericks Fall Short at Air Force, 77-61

Dec 9, 2014 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Omaha Athletics

USAF Academy, Colo. – The Omaha men's basketball team battled to a two-point game in the second half but came up short at Air Force Monday night, falling 77-61 at Clune Arena. The Mavericks dropped to 3-4 (0-0 Summit League) on the season, while the Falcons improved to 5-3 (0-0 Mountain West).

Senior forward Mike Rostampour led Omaha on both sides of the ball, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. He shot 6-for-11 from the field and was a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line, and six of his rebounds were offensive caroms.

Senior guard CJ Carter also finished in double figures with 12 points on a trio of 3-pointers, adding two rebounds, two assists and a career-high three blocks. Freshman forward Tre'Shawn rounded it out with 11 points with four boards, shooting 5-for-8 for the night.

Junior guard Marcus Tyus chipped in eight points, a season-best-tying six rebounds and a career-high six assists, while junior forward Randy Reed tallied six points and two boards.

Air Force was led by 21 points by Max Yon, who shot 6-for-10 from the field with three 3-pointers. Yon was also 6-for-7 at the line and had five rebounds, three assists and a block. Marek Olesinski also had a double-figure effort with 16 points, and Kamryn Williams had 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.

As a team, the Mavericks shot .397 (23-of-58) to Air Force's .540 (27-of-50). Omaha outrebounded the Falcons, 32-31, including 15-9 on the offensive tally.

Omaha seized an early 13-9 lead, but Air Force tied it at 13-all on a Mooney layup. The Mavericks then used two free throws by redshirt freshman Rylan Murry and a Thurman dunk to go up by four, but Zach Kocur and Trevor Lyons each hit a 3-pointer to give the Falcons a 19-17 advantage. Tyus then knocked in a three of his own to put UNO up 20-19 at 8:45, which would be its last lead of the half. Two baskets by Reed did pull the Mavericks pull within two, but Air Force's scoring push continued. A Ryan Manning layup and threes by Olesinski and Matt Mooney increased the run to 21-6, spotting the Falcons a 34-24 advantage with 2:49 left. Omaha kept responding with back-to-back treys from Carter and Tyus, but a final triple by Olesinski gave Air Force to a 37-30 lead by the break.

In the second half, the Mavericks chipped away at Air Force's lead, fastening together a 10-0 run from 8:03 to 6:05. A Carter 3-pointer, followed by two Rostampour layups, cut the Falcons' lead to 54-52, but the tide turned just as quickly in Air Force's favor. Yon knocked down consecutive threes, and Olesinski added another, followed by a Mooney layup that put the Falcons ahead 65-53 with 3:54 left. Although Omaha got it back under 10 with 2:01 remaining, Yon had the final word, with his last layup punctuating the game for a final score of 77-61.

Omaha returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 10, hosting Iowa Wesleyan at Ralston Arena at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on 1180 Zone 2 with Gary Sharp on the call, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.