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Men's basketball lose a pair
 Kevin Schlagel
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 Alex Carlson
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The toughest road trip of the year lived up to its billing for the SCSU men's basketball team. Traveling to play Nebraska-Omaha and Northern Colorado has never been an easy task, but it was made much more difficult this year as both teams have improved mightily. The Huskies failed in their task however as they lost to Omaha on Friday, 81-72, and UNC on Saturday, 86-85.
The Huskies' (16-6, 8-6 NCC) toughest job at hand would be to try to overtake UNO for second place on Friday. The Huskies never really had control of the game, though, as they were careless with the basketball (20 turnovers), and only shot 35.6 percent from the field.
The Mavs took control of the game early in the first and second halves.
They led 37-26 at the break, after they went on a 18-7 run to close out the first. In the second they led by as much as 20 before SCSU came storming back with a barrage of treys.
Trailing by 20 with 5:53 left in the game, the Huskies went on a 15-2 run that included three from downtown. However, they would only get as close as seven with 2:54 remaining.
"I'm glad our kids didn't give up, but I'm sure Omaha would have had another run to meet our run," SCSU head coach Kevin Schlagel told the Omaha World Herald. "They're a very good basketball team, and they've shown us in two games this year that we have a ways to go before we can catch them.
"Omaha was much more aggressive than we were. Their press obviously hurt us, and we made bad decisions with the ball. That got them on a roll. And when we did break the press, we couldn't finish anything."
It's the second time the Huskies were beaten soundly by the Mavs this year. On Jan. 12, the Mavs crushed SCSU, 102-63, on their home court. The win all but gave second place to the Mavs in the NCC behind conference leader South Dakota State. It also secured a postseason berth for them in the NCC conference tournament.
Husky killer Seth Nelson led the Mavs with 21 points. In the previous mauling that the Mavs gave the Huskies at Halenbeck, Nelson had 28. Eddie King made seven of eight from the floor, and finished with 14 for UNO. The Mavs had five players in double figures and shot 43.5 percent for the game.
SCSU was again led by Forrest Witt. He scored 26 and went five of 11 from beyond the arc. Jason Kron added another double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Alex Carlson returned to the Husky lineup and scored 10 points off the bench.
The No. 20 ranked Huskies flew out to Greeley Saturday morning for their matchup with the UNC Golden Bears. The Huskies weren't greeted with any kind of warmth though.
With 8.7 seconds left to play in the game, and SCSU leading 85-83, UNC freshmen guard Aaron Austin hit a game-winning triple to give the Golden Bears the 86-85 upset of the Huskies.
"I was open, and things worked out," Austin told the Greeley Tribune of the game-winner. "I was wide open and the guys did a nice job of screening for me."
The Huskies failed to get the ball up the court quick enough to get within striking distance of at least a desperate attempt for a shot. The loss now means the Huskies fall to sixth place in the NCC, and the win moved the Bears into sole possession of fifth.
Alex Carlson and Rado Rancik baskets gave the Huskies a three point cushion at 84-81. Then, Jason Kron was called for fouling Austin behind the arc, and Austin made two of three free throws. Next, there was a melee under the basket as B.J. Brant was fouled by senior Howard Jackson of UNC.
Jackson fouled out on the play and Brant had to leave due to an injury suffered on the collision.
Senior Jonny Reese replaced Brant at the stripe and hit one of two free throws to give the Huskies an 85-83 lead with 23.5 seconds remaining in the contest. But Austin's trey from the left side would clinch it for the Bears.
Jackson led the Bears with 27 points and 16 rebounds. Austin added 19 for UNC.
SCSU, which has now lost three straight, was led by Witt's 21 points.
Rancik added 20 points and eight rebounds. Carlson scored 11 and had seven assists in his first start since coming back from his broken left index finger.
SCSU closes out their NCC regular season home schedule next weekend as they face off against North Dakota and North Dakota State. If they want a chance at the postseason, winning their final four games is absolutely vital.
Otherwise, high hopes that reigned supreme at the beginning of the season will be dashed.
Andy Rennecke can be reached at: [email protected]
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