UNO Rally In Second Period To Knock Off 'Roos, 67-59

UMKC took an 11-point lead into the half, but Omaha rallied and outscored the 'Roos 37-18 in the final stanza to sweep the season series, 67-59 on Saturday night.

The 'Roos (6-16, 3-6 SL) looked unstoppable in the first half on offense, scoring 41 points and getting 34 of those in the paint. It was the most points in the paint in a half all season, while tallying 14 off eight offensive boards. Omaha (7-16, 4-6 SL) was also forced into 12 turnovers in the period.

Kansas City scored the first six points of the half and never trailed in the opening period. Omaha tied the game at 14 with 12:20 on the clock, but the 'Roos went on a 6-0 run sparked by a layup from senior Brad Reid. UMKC led by six with 5:15 to play in the half, and extended it with an 8-1 run to its biggest advantage of the night at 13 with 3:21 left. The 'Roos went into the half up 41-30.

Reid had a career half, putting up a season-high 10 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. Thomas Staton added eight first period points. Justin Simmons led the Mavs with 11 points. The 'Roos led in nearly every statistical category at the break.

The second half was a different story though. Omaha held UMKC to only 18 points, with only 12 in the paint, and turned 12 turnovers into 15 Maverick points.

UNO started chipping away at the lead with about 16 minutes to play. It used a 10-2 run to cut the lead to only one with 11:58 on the clock. It held Kansas City scoreless for more than seven minutes and took the lead with 10 minutes on the clock. After a couple lead changes around the eight minute mark, Omaha took the advantage for good on a bucket by Simmons with 6:22 to play.

The Mavs got up by six with less than three minutes left, and then sealed it at the free throw line down the stretch after late turnovers from the 'Roos. It was the ninth straight home loss for Kansas City, the longest since 1988.

Reid and Staton each finished the night with 12 points for UMKC, while Reid tallied 13 boards. He became only the second 'Roo to record a double-double this season (Fred Chatmon being the other). Kansas City was held to 29.2 percent shooting the final half while UNO hit 50 percent. Simmons led the Mavs with 21 points, putting his average at 23.5 per game against UMKC this season.

The 'Roos will head to North Dakota State on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. tip in Fargo.