TULSA, Okla. (Interstat) — Paul Djobet scored 25 points and the Omaha Mavericks used a dominant defensive performance to snap a two-game skid with a 73-62 victory over the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in a Summit League men’s basketball game Saturday night at the Mabee Center.

Omaha improved to 9-11 overall and evened its conference record, while Oral Roberts dropped to 5-15.

The Mavericks never trailed, establishing control early with a 12-2 run to open the game and leading by as many as 15 points in the first half. Their defensive pressure was the story, forcing 11 Oral Roberts turnovers while committing only eight, and holding the Golden Eagles to 38.8% shooting from the field and a frigid 5-of-24 from three-point range.

The most important sequence of the game came early in the second half, when Oral Roberts threatened to erase Omaha’s halftime lead. After trailing 36-30 at the break, the Golden Eagles opened the second period with a 7-2 spurt, cutting the deficit to just one point at 38-37 on a pair of Ofri Naveh free throws with 17:38 remaining. The momentum seemed to be shifting in front of a home crowd of 4,747.

Omaha responded immediately and decisively. On the ensuing possession, Lance Waddles found Djobet for a critical three-pointer to push the lead back to four. After an Oral Roberts miss, Waddles then stole the ball and fed Djobet for another basket. Just over a minute later, following another Golden Eagles turnover, Djobet returned the favor, assisting on a Waddles three-pointer. In a span of just 2 minutes and 21 seconds, Omaha engineered a 10-0 run to stretch its lead back to 48-37, effectively extinguishing Oral Roberts’ comeback bid. The Golden Eagles would not get within single digits again until the final minute.

Djobet, a 6-foot-7 forward from Lille, France, was efficient in his 31 minutes, adding an assist and several key rebounds to his game-high point total. His back-to-back plays during the critical second-half run were pivotal. Waddles, a guard from Shreveport, Louisiana, provided crucial support with 12 points and a game-high five assists, orchestrating the offense and contributing to the defensive effort with multiple steals.

Oral Roberts was led by Naveh, a 6-foot-7 guard from Neot Golan, Israel, who scored 22 points, largely from an 11-of-13 performance at the free-throw line. Connor Dow of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, added 13 points, and Ty Harper of Norcross, Georgia, also scored 13. The Golden Eagles’ offense struggled to find consistency, managing only two assists as a team against Omaha’s active defense.

The Mavericks capitalized on their defensive plays, scoring 18 points off turnovers compared to just five for Oral Roberts. Omaha also controlled the interior, outscoring the Golden Eagles 32-24 in the paint, with Djobet doing much of his damage on drives and cuts to the basket.

Omaha’s 7-foot-1 center Christian Richardson from Rancho Cucamonga, California, provided a strong interior presence with eight points, three blocks, and several altered shots in 19 minutes. His early block on Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams in the second half helped set the defensive tone after halftime.

Oral Roberts’ Yamanouchi-Williams, a 6-foot-11 forward from Aizuwakamatsu, Japan, finished with 10 points and three blocks but was hampered by foul trouble. The Golden Eagles shot well from the free-throw line, making 19 of 25, but could not overcome their poor shooting from the field.

For Omaha, the win provided a positive start to a key conference road trip after recent close losses. The Mavericks will look to build on the defensive intensity shown Saturday when they return home to face South Dakota on Wednesday.

Oral Roberts, mired in a difficult season, will seek to regroup when it hosts North Dakota next Thursday. The Golden Eagles have now lost four consecutive games.