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Jerry Bennett scored 22 points and added nine rebounds and earned Most Valuable Player honors in leading the University of Nebraska at Omaha to the North Central Conference tournament championship in the league's final basketball game Sunday at the Taylor Center.

The Mavericks, at 24-6 earned the automatic berth in the NCAA Division II regional tournament, which begins next Saturday. Pairing for the tournament will be announced Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. North Dakota, the No. 6 seed in the NCC tournament, finished its season at 15-15.

The tournament title is the second for UNO, which also won in 2004.

UNO had to survive a second-half rally by North Dakota that erased a 14-point Maverick lead with 15:40 to play. UNO was held to just one field goal in a span of 5:41 while the Sioux hit 7 of 11 shots, including four three-pointers in an 18-2 run, giving North Dakota a 49-47 lead with 10:08 to play.

The Mavericks responded by holding North Dakota off the scoreboard for three minutes and without a field goal for six and a half minutes and Mitch Albers tied the game with a jumper at 9:59 to start a personal 8-0 run that gave UNO the lead for good.

North Dakota scrapped to within a point two more times, the last on a layup by Derek Benter with 2:55 left. UNO expanded that 57-56 advantage by taking care of its free throw opportunities. The Mavericks, the top free-throw shooting team in Division II at 79.9 percent, hit 14 straight from the line in the final 1:49. UNO finished at 32-37 for the game, 86.5 percent.

The Fighting Sioux played an aggressive, intense defensive effort at the outset and held the Mavericks without a field goal for almost six minutes. UNO adjusted to the pressure, shot 55 percent from the field and knocked down 12 of 14 free throws to take a 35-24 lead into halftime.

Michael Jenkins and Mitch Albers added 16 points each for UNO. Denny Johnston scored eight, added six rebounds and had no turnovers while playing the full 40 minutes.

Besides Bennett, Mitch Albers and Johnston were named to the all-tournament team.

Emmanuel Little led North Dakota with 20 points and nine rebounds. Travis Bledsoe added 14 points and Youmans 13.

All-Tournament Team:
Corey McIntosh - Augustana
Emmanuel Little - North Dakota
Mitch Albers - Nebraska-Omaha
Travis Beldsoe - North Dakota
Denny Johnston - Nebraska-Omaha
MVP:  Jerry Bennett - Nebraska-Omaha  

Courtesy UNO Sports Information