Omaha, NE - The buzz was noticeably different around Baxter Arena last night. Pulling up to the arena 45 minutes early, there was a line of cars never seen before for a basketball game at Baxter. Multiple police cruisers directed traffic to specific parking lots, where in other games it was simply first come, first serve no matter the direction you came in.
The concourse was loud, with fans mulling about in palpable anticipation for the game about to be put on display. This was not your everyday Mavericks game, and a far cry from their home opener in November; a glorified practice against Buena Vista due to road conditions preventing thousands of school children from making the trip.
The announced crowd of 4,228 made their voices hear early and often, but the 2nd half reached another level of support.
South Dakota State got an early jump on the Mavs and ran out to an early lead thanks to 20 first half points from Mike Daum, whose ability to score from anywhere on the floor made defending him a challenge for Matt Pile and backup Brett Barney.
"Daum in the first half got the ball in all the sweet spots we talked about for the past 3 days," said Coach Derrin Hansen after the game. "The second half he got the ball a little bit farther away."
With the defense more focused on Daum in the 2nd half, South Dakota Stayed keyed on sophomore shooter David Jenkins to keep the Mavs at bay. Jenkins scored 25 of his game-high 34 points in the second half, and finished the day shooting 10-for-15 from long range.
But it was a full team effort that brought Omaha back in it. Four Mavericks scored in double figures in the 2nd half alone, led by Matt Pile and KJ Robinson, who each netted 13 points. An 18-0 run erased a 16-point deficit, and the Mavericks and Jackrabbits traded blows for the final 14 minutes of the game, seeing all of the game's 13 lead changes after that run.
Mike Daum drove and drew a foul with 5 seconds left, sinking both free throws to take an 84-83 lead before Mitch Hahn made his game winning drive.
"My first thought was to shoot a pull-up 3, then Matt [Pile] said 'we need to get to the rim.' Against South Dakota State in the championship game [2 years ago] we shot a deep three...we can't do the same thing twice. [Alex] Arians did a good job of cutting me off, the only thing he gave me was the shot I had to take."
After the game, students rushed the floor to congratulate the Mavs, who were all more than happy to high-five every last fan on their way to the locker room.
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