Recap: Nebraska Omaha vs. IUPU-Ft Wayne

Omaha, NE (Sports Network) - Justin Simmons shot 7-of-11 from the field en route to 23 points as the Nebraska Omaha Mavericks defeated the IUPU-Fort Wayne Mastodons, 86-79, in a Summit League bout at Ralston Arena.

Simmons has now reached double figures in 14 consecutive games as Omaha (8-16, 5-6 Summit) won its third straight. Marcus Tyus added a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 from the field off the bench while John Karhoff and Alex Phillips scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, before fouling out.

Frank Gaines matched a career-high with 32 points on 11-of-19 from the field to lead IPFW (10-14, 3-7), which has now lost three of its last four contests. Luis Jacobo chipped in 16 points while Michael Kibiloski netted 12 points.

Omaha trailed 41-36 at intermission despite hitting 50 percent of its shots in the first half while holding IPFW to 42.9 percent shooting.

The Mavericks pulled away in the second half after drilling 18-of-23 shots from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Simmons scored 22 of his 23 points in the final 19:08 of the game and missed just one shot in the second half.

The Mavericks' bench outscored IPFW's reserves, 26-10, as Omaha defeated the Mastodons for the first time in program history.