Fort Wayne Takes OT Heartbreaker From Mavs, 96-95

Saturday, March 1

Ralston Arena

1:07 PM

Omaha

16-14 (5-9)

Fort Wayne (Senior Day)

22-9 (10-4)

Team	1	2	OT 1	F
IPFW	43	39	14	96
Omaha	45	37	13	95

Notes

Mavericks Begin Dakota Road Swing at NDSU - Omaha Athletics

Fort Wayne Takes OT Heartbreaker From Mavs, 96-95

Mar 1, 2014 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Omaha Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker in its final regular-season game of the season, falling 96-95 in overtime to Fort Wayne. With the loss, the Mavericks drop to 16-14 (5-9 Summit League), while the Mastodons close the regular season at 22-9 (10-4 Summit League) and secure a No. 2 seed for the conference tournament next week.

Sophomore guard Marcus Tyus led UNO with 21 points, shooting 5-of-12 from the field and 9-of-10 at the line. Junior guard CJ Carter added another 20 points on a 7-of-15 day with four 3-pointers made.

Senior center John Karhoff also chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, while junior forward Mike Rostampour had 13 points and nine boards. Senior guard Justin Simmons rounded it out with 12 points and four steals, and senior forward Matt Hagerbaumer pulled down eight rebounds.

Steve Forbes led Fort Wayne with 21 points, including the game-tying and game-winning free throws in overtime. Luis Jacobo added 20 points with four 3-pointers, and Pierre Bland and Joe Edwards each had 18.

The game stayed close for the majority of the first half, which saw five lead changes. Late opening half, threes by Tyus and Steffensmeier, as well as two free throws from Simmons, put the Mavericks ahead 39-31 with 4:06 to go. A late run by the Mastodons, however, cut the Mavs' lead to two at the break, 45-43.

The second half proved far more dramatic. With the help of 11 second-half points from Carter, the Mavs held on to the lead until However, Jacobo fired up a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper on the next possession, to put the Mastodons up by four with just 22 seconds remaining in the game.

Carter then provided a three with 0:11 left to bring Omaha within one, followed by two free throws from IPFW's Mo Evans, which pushed the Mastodons' lead up to 82-79. With 0:04 left, Patterson hit the tying triple, knocking down a three to knot the score at 82-82 to send it to overtime.

Omaha hit five of six shots from the field during the overtime period, but free throw shooting proved costly. After missing just one free throw in regulation (21-of-22), the Mavs shot just 2-of-5 in overtime. With 0:27 left, UNO went up 95-90 with two Tyus free throws before a pair of free throws from Forbes at 0:16. A layup by Bland with 0:04 to go then pulled IPFW within one at 95-94.

The game hit its peak when Karhoff was whistled for a foul on Forbes with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. Forbes made his first two foul shots to put the Mastodons on top 96-95, then missed his final shot, and the clock ran out.

The game marked Senior Day for UNO's five seniors – Hagerbaumer, Karhoff, Simmons, Alex Phillips and Caleb Steffensmeier.

Omaha, which finishes the regular season at 16-14, will await its fate for postseason play. Due to their status as a reclassifying Division I program, the Mavericks are ineligible for the Summit League Tournament, the NCAA Tournament and the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), they are eligible for a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) and the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) for postseason competition.