Pack's shooting woes continue with loss to UN-Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. - A less-then-stellar shooting performance and an amped-up Nebraska-Omaha team converged on the ThunderWolves Friday night, resulting in a 82-62 loss to the homestanding Mavericks at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Thanksgiving Classic.

UN-Omaha led for 39 of the game's 40 minutes, led largely by a consistent offense. The Mavericks shot nearly 50 percent from the field and boasted five players with 10 or more points while the Pack simply struggled mounting any momentum against the Mavs.

The Mavericks began to pull away early in the first half, right after the ThunderWolves took their one and only lead of the game - a 9-8 lead four minutes into the first half. The Mavs quickly responded with a 13-3 run, fueled by four three-pointers by three different players.

Though the Pack responded valiantly, going on a 7-0 run and getting within two, 21-19, the Mavericks simply slowly chipped away at the Pack, and soon had a large lead. Throughout the final nine minutes of the first half, the ThunderWolves were outscored 24-17, and were trailing 45-36 at half.

The Pack's chances were all but shot, though, as the second half began with UN-Omaha uncorking seven straight points and taking a 55-36 lead. The rest of the way, the closest the Pack would get was within 15, mostly trailing by 20 more points for the bulk of the game.

The loss was the Pack's second in three games this season, and their third loss in a row to the Mavs, dating back to 2005.

ThunderWolves' Notes: The ThunderWolves only took 11 trips to the free-throw line, the lowest amount since they took only nine shots from the charity stripe in a game against Adams State Feb. 6, also a loss. The Pack hit eight of their 11 shots from the line ... Forward Chris Childress got the start in the middle in relief of Jake Trahern, and made the most of it, setting a career high in points (10) and taking down eight rebounds in the process. In the Pack's three games this season, Childress has taken down at least eight boards in each ... Julien Franklin saw a streak in which he had hit a three-pointer in 13 consecutive games come to a screeching halt, going 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.