UNO Men fall to Eastern Washington

UNO Men fall to Eastern Washington
December 6th, 2021 | omavs.com

OMAHA, Neb. – Four players scored double-figures Saturday behind a career-high 23 points from Nick Ferrarini, but second half free throws were the difference maker. Eastern Washington finished the second half 20-of-25 at the line earning a 92-81 win.
 
The Mavericks fall to 1-7 overall.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Ferrarini was 8-of-14 from the field with three three-pointers. He finished 4-of-6 from the foul line for a new career-high 23 points. Marco Smith also notched a new personal best with 11 points. He hit 7-of-8 free throws. Smith led the Mavericks with six boards and three assists.
 
Darrius Hughes and Frankie Fidler completed the double-figure scoring efforts with 12 points each. Fidler was 4-of-8 with two threes, while Hughes was 4-of-7 and a perfect 4-for-4 at the line. Fidler matched Smith with six rebounds and three assists.
 
Leaders for Eastern Washington
Rylan Bergersen led all-scorers with 32 points Saturday. He was 10-of-13 from the field and 11-of-15 from the charity stripe. He notched a double-double with 10 rebounds and added three assists.
 
Steele Venters added 21 points. He hit five from long range and fell short of a double-double with eight rebounds. Angelo Allegri added 12 points, while Mason Landdeck led the game with four assists and four steals.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot 47.1 percent from the field, while Eastern Washington hit nearly 54 percent of its attempts. The Eagles led with 10 threes to Omaha’s eight. Both teams got to the foul line at least 30 times. Omaha converted 25-of-30, while EWU hit 24-of-32.
 
The Maverick bench continues to step up. Today they outscored the Eagles’ reserves, 44-17. Omaha also held advantage on points from turnovers (17-16) and second chance points (11-9).
 
Inside the First Half
The Mavericks came to play in the first half posting the most points in the first all season long with 46. Felix Lemetti ignited the Omaha offense with a three-pointer for the first points of the game. The beginning of the half saw two ties and lead changes before Venters connected on back-to-back threes sparking a 9-2 run for a 19-11 lead.
 
Fidler’s dunk with 10:01 left in the first got Omaha back within six points. Hughes then connected on a pair from the line followed by a three-pointer from Fidler cutting the EWU lead to one. Smith stepped up to the line wit 7:34 for two points retaking the lead, 24-23. The Mavericks held on to a lead until Angelo Allegri made a three-pointer with just over four minutes to play. Omaha managed to tie it twice more, but the Eagles took a 48-46 edge at halftime.
 
Inside the Second Half
Kyle Luedtke and Hughes used back-to-back buckets to capture a 51-49 lead for the Mavericks out of the break. Fidler and EWU’s Rylan Bergersen traded baskets to swing the lead in favor of their teams. With 10:09 left in the half, Smith’s layup tied the game one final time, 61-61, while Dylan Brougham’s layup at the 9:20 mark gave Omaha its final lead of the night.
 
Early fouls in the half, put the Eagles at the line in the bonus with 12 minutes left to play and free throws would be the difference maker. Yousef Elkugia netted two points on a fast break layup for a 65-64 lead that EWU would hold on to for the remainder of the game. Fidler’s three-pointer with 54 second remaining got Omaha within six points, but six more points from the line held on to a 92-81 win for Eastern Washington.
 
Noting Tonight’s Game
-Ferrarini and Smith scored new career-highs. Ferrarini blew by his 15-point record with 23 points on 8-of-14 from the field. Smith surpassed his by one point with 11 on the day.
-Today’s game marked the second time this season the Mavericks had four players score double-figures.
-Omaha has struggled in the first half offensively all season, but today’s 46 first-half points marks a season-high. The previous first-half high was 37 vs. Hastings in the season opener.
-Omaha’s 30 free throw attempts was also a season-high.
 
Up Next
Omaha hosts Drake on Wednesday, Dec. 8. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. following the women’s basketball game vs. K-State at 5 p.m.

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