Nebraska-Omaha Rally Falls Short

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (UNO Media Relations) -- Tarleton State squelched a furious second half rally by the Mavericks to post a 75-71 victory over the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the first round of the South Central NCAA Division II Regional Saturday night.  The loss ends the UNO season at 22-9.

Andrew Bridger and Jeff Martin led the Mavericks with 15 points apiece, with the pair combining for nine of the team's three-pointers.  Martin, with all five of his shots from behind the arc coming the second half, broke Zac Robinson's career three-point record.  Martin, a junior from Bellevue, Neb., now has 98 to Robinson's 96.

The Mavs trailed by as many as 12, 61-49, with 7:55 left, but scrambled back to take the lead, 69-68, with 1:28 left on two free throws by Matt Newman.   Martin contributed to the Mavs' 10-0 run with back-to-back three-pointers that sliced the lead to 67-65 with 2:27 left and Bridger tied the game with a layup with 1:54 to play.

But the Lincoln senior, one of just three Mavericks to score 1,000 points, get 400 assists and have 100 steals, saw his career come to an end when he fouled out seconds later.   After a free throw by TSU's Corin Henry with 1:46 left, Newman was fouled under the basket and connected twice for the lead.

The advantage was brief, however.  Henry knocked down a pair of free throws 19 seconds later and the Texans never gave up the lead again, although the Mavs had their chances.

Tyler Bullock pulled UNO back to within 72-71 with a driving layup with 37 seconds remaining.  the Texans answered with two more free shots by Henry to lead, 74-71.  Bullock had a layup blocked by Devon Hills with 19 seconds left and Martin missed a three-point shot after UNO got the ball back.  Jeremiah Wilson missed two free throws, giving UNO another chance, but the Texans' Efran Bryant stole the ball from Martin at the top of the arc. 

"I thought we had a decent look (on the shot by Martin)," UNO head coach Derrin Hansen said.  "But he (Bryant) made a good play on it."

Hansen  had praise for Tarleton State's play, especially in the first half.  

"It was a hard-fought game and we knew it would be," he said.  "We fought like crazy, which has been a characteristic of our team all year long."

Newman and Bullock added 11 points each for the Mavericks, with Newman, Dion Curry and Eugene Bain collecting seven rebounds apiece.

Wilson led the Texans, now 24-7, with 17 points and 12 rebounds, his ninth double-double of the season.  Bryant and Henry each contributed 12 points.  The Texans will meet host Midwestern State Sunday night in the semifinals.  Central Missouri State and Fort Hays State will meet in the other semifinal game.

UNO attacked the zone defense of Tarleton State with a pair of quick three-pointers by Bridger and
Newman, but the Texans reeled off nine straight points.  UNO recovered to take a 21-16 lead with 9:14 to play in the first half, however TSU scored the next 12 points.  

The Mavericks battled to within 31-27 on consecutive baskets by Bullock and Bain, however the Texans were quick to answer and scored eight straight, five from Henry.  Bullock's three-pointer just before the buzzer, trimmed TSU's lead to 38-30 at the break.

"Give a lot of credit to UNO," TSU coach Lonn Reisman said.  "They're a good team.  They have no quit in them and I have a lot of respect for their progam."