NOC rallied from a 43-28 halftime deficit to take a 74-68 lead late but lost to NEO 86-80 in the 2026 conference opener at Foster-Piper Fieldhouse.
After a sluggish first half, the Mavs dominated the first 15 minutes of the second half outscoring NEO 46-25 but the Mavs only scored six points the final 5:00.
NOC held their final lead on a Caison Cole 3-pointer to give the Mavs a 77-76 lead with 2:12 left but NEO outscored the Mavs 10-3 the rest of the way.
Xon Williams led the Mavs with 15 while Caison Cole and Jaydon Awe added 13 each. DJ Howell had 12 for the Mavs while Caison Cole added 10.
Awe led the Mavs with five rebounds.
The Mavs shot 51% from the floor and 37% from 3-point range while NEO shot 60% from the field and 29% from the 3-point line.
The Mavs host Western on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7:30 p.m.
NEO 86, Mavs 80
1 2--Total
NEO 43 43-- 86
Mavs 28 52-- 80
Mavs--X. Williams 15, C. Cole 13, J. Awe 13, D. Howell 12, C. Cole 10, M. Miller 7, E. Bortey 5, J. Palmer 4, J. Murray 1.
