Late Surge Lifts Mavs Past Western Illinois, 71-60

Saturday, February 8

Ralston Arena

1:07 PM

Omaha

15-9 (4-4)

Western Illinois

9-14 (3-5)

Team	1	2	F
Western Illinois	28	32	60
Omaha	35	36	71

Karhoff Named Summit League Player of the Week - Omaha Athletics

Late Surge Lifts Mavs Past Western Illinois, 71-60

Feb 8, 2014 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Omaha Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's basketball team defeated Western Illinois Saturday, 71-60, in front of 1,083 fans at Ralston Arena. With the victory, Omaha has improves to 15-9 (4-4 Summit League) with a three-game win streak. The Leathernecks, who have dropped six of their last nine games, fall to 9-14 (3-5 Summit League).

The Mavericks were led by seniors Justin Simmons and John Karhoff. Both put up 19 points and shot a combined 13-for-29 from the field, accounting for more than half the teams' field goals. Simmons added three assists and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line, while Karhoff finished with eight boards in 33 minutes of action.

Both junior guard CJ Carter (10) and junior forward Mike Rostampour (10) also finished with double-figure scoring for Omaha. Carter dished out four assists and didn't miss from the foul line, going 6-of-6. Rostampour grabbed seven rebounds to help his cause and shot a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.

Garret Covington paced Western Illinois on offense, as he finished with a game-high 21 points with four 3-pointers and six rebounds. Jabari Sandifer had 14 points and five rebounds for the Leathernecks, and Michael Ochereobia had nine points, six boards and four blocked shots.

Western Illinois shot 5-of-8 in the first half and was aided by a trio of threes from Covington, who scored the Leathernecks' first nine points and had 14 total in the opening stanza. Karhoff countered for Omaha, notching 13 points and five rebounds in the first half, while sophomore guard Devin Patterson had eight with two 3-pointers, and Simmons added another six.

A jumper by Adam Link tied the game at 13-13, but Patterson fired up his second three of the half to put UNO on top again. Senior guard Alex Phillips then knocked down a trey of his own, stole the ball from Western on the next possession and sent it down for a Carter layup that made it 19-13. Omaha took its first double-digit lead with a Patterson jumper that made it 30-20, and the Mavericks went into the locker room holding a 35-28 advantage.

The Mavericks maintained their lead until Covington hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 10:57 to go, knotting the score at 43-43. But UNO roared back, taking advantage with its only 3-pointer of the second half when Simmons sunk a deep three with 6:28 remaining to put Omaha ahead for good, 50-47. Omaha extended its lead to 11, its largest of the game, at 69-58 with 0:38 left on a power jam by Simmons, then went on to take the 71-60 win.

Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 13, hosting South Dakota State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ralston Arena, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on KZOT 1180 AM with Gary Sharp and Grant Nieland on the call.