Turek's Career Night Lifts Huskers to Win

Lincoln ? John Turek scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, as Nebraska opened the 2003-04 campaign with an 80-64 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday evening at the Devaney Center.

The 6-9 junior from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was 8-for-13 from the floor and bettered his previous career high of 20 points set against Kansas State as a freshman. Turek, who now has four career double-doubles, took command late in the half, scoring seven of his 16 first-half points when Nebraska closed the opening half on a 20-8 spurt. The surge turned a one-point deficit to a 43-32 halftime advantage for the Huskers.

Turek, who also 8-for-9 from the foul line and blocked a pair of shots, was one of three Huskers to finish in double figures, as the Huskers posted their 23rd straight home-opening win. Senior guard Nate Johnson finished with 18 points, on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, in 29 minutes. Senior Brian Conklin came off the bench to contribute 13 points, including a pair of 3-points, in just 13 minutes of work.

Nebraska showed good ball movement throughout night, recording assists on 22 of their 27 field goals while committing only 11 turnovers in the win. The 80 points equaled the most Nebraska scored in any game all of last season (vs. Colorado and Minnesota last season), while the Huskers enjoyed a commanding 43-28 edge on the glass.

Nebraska started slowly, as Fairleigh Dickinson led throughout the first 10 minutes of the contest, but the Huskers came back behind strong performances by Turek and Conklin, who came off the bench to score eight first-half points, including a pair of 3-pointers to provide a much-needed spark. The Huskers (1-0) took the lead for good on Wes Wilkinson’s driving bucket with 4:11 in the half while Turek helping NU to a 26-11 advantage in the paint. NU also handed the ball throughout the half, dishing out 13 assist, while committing just one turnover in the opening 20 minutes of action.

Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1) closed to withn 45-37 with 18:51 remaining the game, but would not get closer as Turek hit a short jumper in the paint and Johnson added a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 13. The Huskers weren't seriously threatened the rest of the way, cruising to the 16-point win.

Another bright spot in the opening-night performance was the play of junior Jake Muhleisen, who missed nearly the entire second half of last season after suffering a hip fracture against Kansas in last season’s Big 12 opener. The 6-4 junior had nine points, eight rebounds and four assists, while splitting time at the 1-3 spots on the floor.

Gordon Klaiber was the only Knight to finish in double-figures, as he poured in 21 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, in a losing effort.

The Huskers return to action next Saturday, Nov. 29, when they host Eastern Michigan at the Devaney Center. Tipoff between the Huskers and Eagles is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network and on Huskers.com.

Nebraska Postgame Notes
* Nebraska won its home opener for the 23rd straight season, and won its season opener for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. The last time NU lost a home opener was in the 1980-81 season, when the Huskers fell to Wyoming, 62-59.

* Junior forward John Turek got off to a strong start to the season, pitching in a career- and game-high 24 points, including 16 in the first half. Turek's previous career high of 20 came in his freshman season, when he put up 20 points at Kansas State on March 2, 2002.

* Turek added a game-high 13 rebounds to go with his 24 points, giving him his fourth career double double. All three of Turek's other double doubles came last season.

* Two Huskers saw the first action of their careers against Fairleigh Dickinson, including Marcus Neal Jr. and Charles Richardson Jr. Neal made his first career start, opening the game in the lineup with returning starters Jake Muhleisen, Nate Johnson, Andrew Drevo and John Turek. Neal finished with two points and five assists in 21 minutes, while Richardson had two assists and two rebounds in 14 minutes.

* NU had 43 rebounds on the night, including 15 on the offensive end. Turek led the Huskers with 13 rebounds, while Jake Muhleisen tied his career high with eight, including six in the first half. NU outrebounded the Knights 43-28, and limited FDU to just seven offensive boards.

* Sophomore Wes Wilkinson set a career high with two steals against FDU, surpassing his previous career high of one set three times last season. Wilkinson had just three steals in 30 games last season. Nebraska finished with six steals as a team.

* Nebraska finished the game with 22 assists (on 27 baskets) and 11 turnovers, after having 13 assists and just one turnover in the first period. Marcus Neal Jr. led the Huskers with five assists on the night, while Jake Muhleisen and Corey Simms each added four. Nebraska's assists were four more than any game last season, as the Huskers' season high in 2002-03 was 18 in a come-from-behind victory against UC Santa Barbara.

* The Huskers' 43 points at halftime was the highest point total for the Huskers since the 2001-02 campaign. Last year, Nebraska's topped 40 points before the intermission just twice, at home in a win over nationally ranked Minnesota (41 points) and on the road at Baylor (40 points).

* Muhleisen finished the game with nine points, and now has 501 for his career, the most of any current Husker.

* Nebraska improved to 16-2 under Coach Barry Collier when scoring 80 points or more. Collier's teams are 83-21 all-time in his 15th year of coaching.

Nebraska Coach Barry Collier
"I thought the team played hard throughout the game, just not always with as much confidence and poise as we need on a consistent basis. I also felt like the FDU point guard, Whitaker, and Klaiber were really hard for us to handle. In the end we did a better job rebounding tonight than we did in the two exhibition games. We took care of the ball again and shared it, with 22 assists, so those are positives."

On John Turek's play
"In a game where Andrew Drevo was in foul trouble and not playing particularly well, John Turek's presence inside, rebounding and scoring for us and defending was a major factor for us. Wilkinson and Conklin both played well off the bench with the foul trouble that we had. John was really more aggressive in the early minutes and he got more sound defensively.

On the point guards
"At times I was pleased (with the guards). Charles had a good stretch in the middle of the second half. Marcus did okay in one or two of his stints. Jake ran the point for a short period of time. In the end if we only have 11 turnovers as a team and assists are 2 to 1, then the team is functioning well. We didn't defend well at the point."

Guard Jake Muhleisen
On Assist to Turnover Ratio
"We did a good job tonight of handling the ball against their pressure. We also did a great job of making good passes, but in saying that you have to give credit to the guys who made the shots when they got the ball."

On Playing Point Guard
"It was a little different becuase I haven't played the position in a while. It just took a while to get use to the ball being in my hands again."

On Starting the Season
"He was unbelieveable tonight. John did a great job of making the shots when he had them. He was aggressive on the offensive and defensive board and made his free throws too. He really seemed to be getting his confidence back."

John Turek
On Performance Tonight
"It felt good tonight because the game plan was run the offense through the inside. We knew that they were a little thin and small on the inside so that was our plan. I was pleased with the fact that I finished when I had the opportunity. I really gained confidence when the coaches started running the plays through me."

On Free Throw Shooting
"We have been working hard all season on our free throw shooting. The coaches have been emphasising shooting in practices. We have a new system were we have to shoot four hours a week, so the repetition has helped me a lot."

Fairleigh Dickinson Head Coach Tom Green
On the game in general
"It was too much John Turek tonight. I wasn't disappointed with how we played tonight. At half, I told the guys I wasn't disappointed with how we played in the first half, and I thought we'd be fine if we played like that in the second half but we just didn't shoot the ball well in the second half. Rebounding was a big difference. With 15 offensive boards (for Nebraska) we need to do a much better job blocking out. Gordon Klaiber played his heart out and he played a real solid game."

On John Turek
"Since it was our first game, our scouting report wasn't real accurate and we were keying on Jake Muhleisen and Andrew Drevo and I think we did a good job on them. We knew Turek was big and strong, but we didn't know that he could put the ball on the floor and drive like he did. He's a much better offensive player than we thought and he's a great rebounder, which we knew going into the game."