Senior guard Lamar Wilbern looks for an opening in the UNO defense Saturday night at White Auditorium. Wilbern's career high of 31 points wasn't enough to shut out the Mavericks who walked away 94-88 victory. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin
A late 7-0 run put too much distance between Nebraska-Omaha and Emporia State as the Mavericks left White Auditorium with a victory last Saturday, 94-88.
The team was without senior guard Dustin Andrews for most of the contest due to an ankle injury sustained in the first half.
To start the first half, senior guard Lamar Wilbern hit a 12-foot jumper to give the Hornets the early 2-0 lead. Junior guard Matt Boswell followed Wilbern’s basket with one of his own, giving ESU a 4-0 lead.
After giving up five straight points, Wilbern stepped up and hit a three-pointer from the top of the key. Off of a steal, senior guard Jeremiah Box drove to the hole, missed the shot but was fouled in the act – Box made both free throws, giving the Hornets a 12-7 lead with over 16 minutes to play in the half.
The first media timeout of the contest saw the Hornets hanging on to a 15-13 lead with 14:16 left to play in the half.
A dunk by junior forward Adam Holthaus with just over 10:30 to play in the half gave the Hornets a 23-19 advantage. A timeout was called by Emporia State Coach David Moe after the Mavericks took the lead with a three-pointer, 24-26.
Senior guard Tim Niles fights off a UNO defender Saturday night at White Auditorium. Niles finished the night with 13 points. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin
Following the timeout, Tim Niles stepped up and hit a three-pointer of his own, reclaiming the lead for the Hornets, 27-26, with just over eight minutes to play in the first half.
UNO started knocking down shots, pulling away from the Hornets until Niles threw up a long three-pointer and made it, tying the game at 36-all.
The half ended with a missed half court buzzer beat from Box as the Hornets went to the locker room tied with the Mavericks, 40-40.
The Hornets started the second half with a 5-0 run, giving them a 45-40 lead early. However, a traditional three-point play by UNO cut the lead to two.
A barrage of three-pointers from both teams led the score to 50-50 with just over 16 minutes remaining.
Timeout was called by Moe because of several defensive lapses that led to Nebraska-Omaha to take a three-point lead, 57-60.
Senior forward Jeremiah Box jumps over a UNO defender Saturdaynight at White Auditorium. Box got 2 steals for the night and 14 points. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin
After an empty Mavericks possession following the timeout, Box hit a shot from beyond the arc, tying the game at 60-all.
UNO went on a 12-4 run which forced another timeout by Moe at the 9:59 mark, with the Hornets trailing the Mavericks 64-72. The Hornets battled back from the deficit and made it a two-point game at 73-75 after a technical foul was called on UNO forward Eugene Bain.
UNO called a timeout with 4:46 left in the contest with the Hornets only trailing by two, 78-80.
With 2:03 remaining in the half, Moe called a timeout with the Hornets trailing the Mavericks by six, 82-88.
Emporia State could not come back from the deficit and would leave with a loss, 88-94.
According to Holthaus, points on the low block were hard to come by.
“They’re really athletic,” Holthaus said. “They were making plays on defense coming inside, so it was just really hard to score, for everyone, inside. They were just doing their job and making it hard for us to score in the paint.”
Junior guard Jordan Stout puts in a lay up Saturday night at White Auditorium. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin
Wilbern scored a career-high 31 points to lead all scorers. Holthaus chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds, while Box added 14 points.
Wilbern talked about how the absence of Andrews affected the team’s performance.
“We were without D.A. (Dustin Andrews), which probably hurt us down the stretch because he’s a senior leader,” Wilbern said.
Moe talked at length about the team’s late breakdown which ultimately led to the loss.
“Overall, we didn’t make the plays in the last four minutes,” Moe said. “We made mistakes. You’ve got to be solid those last four minutes, regardless of what happened throughout the game, when you’ve got a chance to win.”
The Hornets next game is at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 10 at White Auditorium against MIAA-foe Southwest Baptist.
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