Omaha men’s basketball fell 91-87 Wednesday night on the road to South Dakota.
The Mavericks’ nine-game winning streak and seven-game Summit League winning streak were snapped by the Coyotes’ furious second-half comeback led by Quandre Bullock’s game-high 31 points.
“It was a tale of two halves,” Coach Chris Crutchfield said. “Everything switched, almost like two different halves. We fouled them like they fouled us in the first half. Second half, we couldn’t draw any fouls. We couldn’t get into our offense,”
The Mavs led by 13 (50-37) at the half after shooting 19-of-30 including 5-of-8 from 3 in the first 20 minutes. Omaha virtually dominated the first period, outscoring the Coyotes 28-18 in the paint.
Marquel Sutton totaled 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks in the first half, finishing with a team-high 29 points and 12 rebounds.
The second half was a different story. The Coyotes ratcheted up their full-court defensive pressure and frustrated the Mavericks into 12 second-half turnovers.
Slowing down Sutton in the second half was a priority. South Dakota fronted the post when Sutton tried to establish position and had a help side defender ready.
“They did a great job of making Marquel work to get a catch,” Crutchfield said.
Two Coyotes and ratcheting up the full-court pressure had a lot to do with the comeback for the ‘Yotes. Isaac Bruns scored 13 of his 23 in 11 second-half minutes and Quandre Bullock scored 13 of his game-high 31 after halftime half for the Coyotes.
“He started making shots in the first half,” Crutchfield said. “We told them we got to get a little closer and make him drive it. He still got off a couple in the second and he’s shooting them with a hand in his face.”
Omaha built a 15-point lead with 14:56 left in the game but went on to shoot just 1-of-13 from 2 and 14-of-36 from the field in the second half.
“I’m disappointed our guys let their guard down,” Crutchfield said. “We just didn’t have that killer instinct when we had that 15-point lead … We just didn’t have any composure, didn’t have any poise down the stretch there and turned the ball over way too many times in the second half to even have a chance to beat a team on the road like that.”
Omaha returns home Saturday night for its first “Bring your own Can” night when the still first-place Mavs host Denver.
