A late run helped Class B No. 5 Omaha Gross hold off Lincoln Pius X 81-73 Friday night at the Cougar gym.

After Pius had trimmed its deficit to three with five minutes left in the final quarter, Gross (14-4) scored the next 12 points to put the game out of reach.

Gross led by as much as 19 in the first half and was up 13 in the third quarter before the Thunderbolts (9-7) began to chip away.

Darrick Mazour came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers in the quarter as Pius got within 58-52 by the end of the period.

After Pius drew within 63-60, Gross scored the next 12 points over a three-minute span. Dylan Travis hit six free throws during the run, and his two foul shots with 2:01 remaining put Gross up 75-60.

“Pius was the aggressor in the third quarter and made some tough shots,” Cougars coach Tim Powers said. “We finally started playing better defense and got some stops.”

While their defense may have had a few lapses, the Cougars’ offense was in rhythm throughout the evening. They hit 26 of 51 field goals, drilled seven 3-pointers and were 22 of 29 from the foul line.

What Powers liked the most was the 19 assists his team registered as it scored more than 80 points for the second time in the past four games.

“Offensively, we shared the ball very well, and when you play unselfishly, you can score,” he said. “All nine kids that played tonight scored.”

It was Travis who did most of the scoring as he finished with 36 points, one off his career best. The senior also grabbed 12 rebounds and had six assists.

“Dylan had a great all-around game,” Powers said. “He rebounded, he shared the ball and he played defense all night.”

Travis scored half his points at the foul line, going 18 for 20. He was 7 of 16 from the field, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers.

“They played some box-in-one, so we were able to move the ball around and get some fastbreak points,” Travis said. “We’re shooting the ball better as a team, and hitting six 3s in the first half got us off to a fast start.”

Tommy Hamilton and Jake McGuire added eight points apiece, with Zach Knicky dishing out five assists.

Jared Kolbush and Erich Nickman had 25 and 24 points, respectively, for the Thunderbolts.

The Cougars hope to build on their four-game win streak when they visit No. 1 South Sioux City next Friday night.

“We’ll come back Monday and prepare, but you don’t want to put all your eggs in a basket for one game,” Powers said. “We’ll be ready to play.”

Lincoln Pius X (9-7).....................11 15 26 21—73

AT Omaha Gross (14-4).......................18 22 18 23—81

LPX: Matt Powell 5; Erich Nickman 24; Jared Kolbush 25; Darrick Mazour 14; Tom Schneider 3; Alexander Stejskal 2.

OG: Dylan Travis 36; JJ Lebeda 4; Tommy Hamilton 8; Anton Rice 5; Zach Knicky 7; Jake McGuire 8; Joe Coenen 4; Josh Missak 3; Zach Johnk 6.