Omaha Outlasts Bobcats to Close Road Trip

Saturday, December 10

Omaha, NE

6 p.m. MT

Montana State University

5-6

Omaha

5-5

Montana State

Omaha

Sam Neumann

Photo by: Dennis Hubbard

12/10/2016 8:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Zach Green goes for career-high 25 points

By: Bill Lamberty

A second-half cold spell and trouble with turnovers spelled doom Saturday, as Omaha beat Montana State 97-91 in Baxter Arena on the UNO campus.

The Bobcats suffered through a dry spell in the latter portion of the second half, scoring just two points in a five-minute stretch that saw the Mavericks expand their lead from two to double-digits. "We got into a scoring drought in the second half," said Bobcat coach Brian Fish. "We settled for a few too many threes and didn't do a very good job taking care of the ball."

Montana State's 18 turnovers, the second-most this season, led to 23 Omaha points. The Mavericks also shot the ball particularly well, converting at a 55% clip on the night and 63% after halftime. "At the end of the day we have to get stops," Fish said. "The game was teetering there for a while if we could just get one stop when we needed it."

Omaha got career games from a pair of players. Marcus Tyus scored a career-high 37 points, while Tre'Shawn Thurman added a season high 25 points with seven boards. "Tyus played really well, give him credit, he really got going," Fish said. "And Thurman played well, too."

The Bobcats overcame a slow start to the first half, falling behind by 12 at around the 10-minute mark. An 11-minute MSU dry spell was the main culprit, and UNO capitalized. But when Tyler Hall hit a three-pointer to pull the Cats with 32-27 with 6:04 to play, the Cats found a spark. The Cats scored on nine of their final 11 full possessions of the first half. Each team shot 48% before the break. MSU hit 10 treys in the first period.

Omaha pushed its lead to double-digits late in the second half, but the Cats never quit fighting. Starting at the 2:41 mark, MSU scored on six of seven possessions, trimming UNO's lead to four points, 95-91. Hall hit a pair of treys in that stretch, and Zach Green had five points. But the Mavericks sealed it from the free throw line.

Green finished with a career-high 25 points while Frey's 17 was the most for him in five games. Tyler Hall added 15, and Quinton Everett 13. Everett added nine rebounds, and Neumann eight.

The Bobcats fall to 5-6 with the loss, and have lost four straight. Omaha is 5-5. Montana State gets the upcoming week off for final exams before hosting South Dakota on Sunday, December 18, at 2 pm.