GAME NOTES: The Mavericks of Nebraska-Omaha aim to get back above .500 on Monday night, as they clash with the Air Force Falcons in non-conference play at Clune Arena.

Members of the Summit League, the Mavericks have alternated wins and losses since tipping off the campaign against Central Arkansas, a 100-75 victory, back on Nov. 16. The trend has continued right up to last week when UNO crumbled against Kansas State on the road, 84-66.

Meanwhile, the Falcons are in the midst of a five-game homestand that will keep the team in Colorado until the end of the calendar year when it finally opens the Mountain West Conference portion of the schedule against San Diego State. The Falcons began this run at home on a positive note last Wednesday by crushing Grambling State in a 59-34 final, one of the strongest defensive efforts in recent memory for the Academy.

The Falcons have won all four previous meetings between the programs, although the most recent of these took place more than 50 years ago when Air Force posted a 90-41 victory on Jan. 7, 1960.

The Mavs trailed at Kansas State by just six points at the break, but that was before the Wildcats lit up the scoreboard with 60.0 percent shooting from the field in the second half, converting 6-of-12 behind the 3-point line, as they ran away with the 18-point win. CJ Carter tried to keep the visitors competitive with his game-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, but the only other double-digit scorer for UNO was Rylan Murry who added 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench.

Carter, a starter in all but three of the 96 games in which he has appeared in his career with the Mavericks, is putting up a team-best 17.5 ppg as he shoots 45.5 percent from the floor. Providing some scoring support is Devin Patterson with his 14.8 ppg. But more than just a scoring option for the Mavs, Patterson is someone who can do it all as he also averages a team-best 5.7 apg and 4.7 rpg as well.

In one of their strongest defensive outings in the last few years, the Falcons limited Grambling State to only 34 points on 28.9 percent shooting from the field, including 1-of-8 behind the 3-point line last week. With the game well in hand, Air Force opted to empty the bench to give as many as 17 members of the squad some playing time. In just 15 minutes, reserve Matt Mooney scored a team-best 11 points, followed by Justin Hammonds with 10 and nine rebounds as the team crushed the Tigers on the glass as well, 47-28.

As was the case in the last outing, the Falcons seem to be finding a way to spread the wealth more often than not through the first seven games of the season, which is why Max Yon is the only player scoring in double figures to this point with his 14.0 ppg. Yon is not only shooting 55.1 percent from the field, he is also connecting on 18-of-36 (.500) beyond the arc for a squad hitting 3-pointers at a 40.3 percent clip.

With a defense limiting opponents to 58.7 ppg, thanks in large part to the effort against Grambling State skewing the numbers, Air Force aims to slow the tempo and value every possession, something that will probably hamper the Mavericks on Monday night.