Hamilton Paces Huskers to Victory over Colorado

Boulder, Colo -- Venson Hamilton scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Nebraska led from start to finish in a 57-52 victory over Wednesday evening in front of 5,075 fans at the Coors Events Center.

With the win, the Huskers, who have won six of seven since a 0-2 conference start, improved to 14-8 overall and 6-3 in the Big 12. The Huskers have also won six of their last eight league road contests dating back to last season.

"We didn't want to get a losing streak started," Hamilton, who recorded his 11th double-double of the season, said. "We came off a disappointing loss at Iowa State, so we had to win this game."

In the first half, Hamilton was a force inside, connecting on all seven of his shots from the floor, as the Huskers built a 29-18 halftime lead. The Husker defense held the Buffs at bay, as CU shot just 18 percent (6-33) from the field in the first half

Nebraska pushed the lead to as much as 15 points, 43-28, with 14:09 left in the game before CU began to comeback. Colorado clawed back with a 12-1 run to cut the deficit to 44-40 with 9:36 remaining.

The Buffs got as close as three on two occasions, the last of which came with 1:47 left on a basket by Jaquay Walls to tighten the score to 55-52, but NU's defense ended all hopes of over time as senior Larry Florence blocked a Walls shot with four seconds remaining.

The Huskers held CU to just 31.7 percent shooting, the Huskers' third-best defensive performance of the season. NU, which has won five straight contests from CU, held the Buffs to 29.7 percent shooting in their first meeting.

Redshirt freshman Cary Cochran joined Hamilton in double figures with 10 points and three assists, while junior guard Cookie Belcher added eight points, five steals and four assists in the win.

Kenny Price led Colorado with 16 points, while Walls contributed 12 points in a losing effort, as Colorado dropped to 11-11 overall and 2-7 in the Big 12.

The Huskers return to action this Saturday, as Nebraska plays host to Big 12 rival Missouri beginning at 3 p.m.