by OMAHA, Neb. – The Mavericks shot over 53 percent from the field behind four double-figure performances, but the Bulldogs battled back from a 10-point halftime deficit for a 78-70 win Wednesday night. Darrius Hughes matched his career-high with 15 points to lead Omaha.
The Mavericks fall to 1-8 overall.
Leaders for Omaha
Hughes led Omaha with 15 points on 7-of-10 from the field. He also grabbed six boards and tallied an assists. Felix Lemetti also scored a career-high 14 points. Five of his made field goals were from the arc. He also tallied six boards.
Nick Ferrarini added 12 points, while Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler fell short of a double-double in his return to action. He recorded 10 points and eight boards. Frankie Fidler finished with a team-high four assists and one steal.
Leaders for Drake
Tucker DeVries scored a game-high 24 points. He hit five from long range. Tremell Murphy added 13 points and five boards. He tallied three three-pointers and went 4-for-4 at the line.
Garrett Sturt tallied 11 points and six boards. ShanQuan Hemphill and D.J. Wilkins each added 10 points.
Team Stats
Omaha shot a season high 50.9 percent from the field and was 7-of-14 from three-point range. After only shooting 31 percent in the first half, Drake came out and shot nearly 58 percent from the field in the second. The Bulldogs also converted 15-of-19 from the charity stripe in the second half.
The teams battled in the paint matching point for point, 24-24. Omaha’s bench stepped up again scoring 30 points to Drake’s 19. The Bulldogs capitalized on points off turnovers, 22-7.
Inside the First Half
Hughes scored the first points of the game before Drake jumped out to an early 9-4 lead. Omaha then used a 9-0 run sparked by Chandler with a corner jumper. Chandler then tied the game 12-12 with another jumper. Ferrarini followed its up with a made three-pointer to take the lead. Over the next two minutes, Drake tied twice, but the Maverick recaptured the lead both times.
Another 9-0 run gave Omaha a late 27-18 lead. Ferrarini had five of those points with a pair of free throws and a bucket for three. The Bulldogs got within five twice, but a Hughes basket to end the half helped the Mavericks to a 37-27 lead at the break.
Inside the Second Half
At the 17:50 mark of the second half, Hughes connected on another jumper for Omaha to give them their largest lead of 11. Less than 30 seconds later, the Bulldogs began chipping away at the lead with a layup from Hemphill. Drake used an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to knot the game 41-41. Wanjang Tut and Chandler tried to reignite the offense. Tut had two straight baskets for Omaha giving the Mavericks a four-point lead with 14:17 left to play.
Lemetti helped extend the lead to six with a made jumper at the 11:55 mark, but back-to-back threes tied the game again, 53-53. Drake went on a 17-0 run to take an 11-point edge with 5:38 left in the half. Frankie Fidler’s three-pointer at 4:27 cut the lead to six. Chandler and Hughes cut the lead to six twice more, but the Bulldogs held on for a 78-70 win.
