ESPN Men's Basketball

OMAHA, Neb. -- Justin Simmons scored 23 points and Marcus Tyus had 22 as Nebraska-Omaha defeated IPFW 86-79 Thursday night.

The Mavericks (8-16, 5-6 Summit) shot 63 percent from the floor, hit 6 of 12 3-pointers and made 16 of 20 free throws to win their third straight game and avenge an 18-point loss to the Mastadons (10-14, 3-7) on Jan. 5.

John Karhoff added 12 points for Nebraska-Omaha and Alex Phillips had 11.

That was enough to overcome a 32-point, nine-rebound game from IPFW's Frank Gaines. Luis Jacobo had 16 points for the Mastadons, and Michael Kibiloski had 12.

The Mavericks trailed 41-36 at halftime but hit 15 of their next 16 shots and finished with a 78.2 shooting percentage in the second half. They were up by two with 7:45 remaining when Simmons hit a 3-pointer, Carter followed with a three-point play and Simmons added a layup to make it 75-65 with 6:34 remaining.