Conklin Paces Huskers to Win over Missouri

Lincoln ? Brian Conklin scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, as Nebraska snapped a six-game losing streak to Missouri with a 78-62 victory Saturday afternoon at the Devaney Center.

The 6-foot-11 senior from Hubbard, Ohio, connected on all five of his three-point attempts to lead four Huskers in double figures. Nebraska downed the Tigers for the first time since an 85-79 victory in Lincoln on Jan. 24, 2001. The win improved the Huskers to 12-7 overall and 2-6 in the Big 12, and was Nebraska’s largest win over the Tigers since a 76-53 victory during the 1996-97 season.

Nebraska took advantage of long-range sharp-shooting by Conklin and point guard Marcus Neal Jr., who was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and scored 14 points. In all, the Huskers connected on a season-best 12 three-pointers on 21 attempts, and committed just nine turnovers, their lowest total since Dec. 6.

Neal, who scored a career-high 15 points in Wednesday’s loss at Kansas State, got the Huskers rolling early, hitting three consecutive shots from long range to give Nebraska a 10-point lead eight minutes into the contest. The 6-foot-2 junior guard had made just five three-pointers in his first 17 games before connecting on seven in the past two games.

Nate Johnson, who was 8-of-9 from the foul line, and John Turek also finished in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. The Huskers were out-rebounded 28-26, but took advantage of 12 offensive rebounds, converting them into 22 second-chance points.

After Missouri closed to within eight, the Huskers came right back with a 9-0 run, pushing the margin to 25-8 on Andrew Drevo’s three-pointer off an offensive rebound. The Tigers got to within 11 on two occasions, but were unable to slice the Husker advantage to single figures the rest of the first half.

The Huskers led 36-19 after a pair of Nate Johnson free throws with 1:28 left in the half before the Tigers scored the final five points of the stanza, capped by a three-pointer by Travon Bryant, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half, with one second remaining to pull the Tigers within 12 at halftime.

Missouri closed the Husker lead to nine at 44-35 after a Thomas Gardner putback with 15:03 remaining in the second half. MU would get no closer, as the Huskers answered with an 8-0 run, capped by three-pointers from Johnson and Conklin that pushed the Husker lead to 52-35 with 13:10 left. Nebraska led by as many as 20 points, at 70-50 with 4:25 remaining, after Conklin’s fourth three-pointer of the afternoon before cruising to a 16-point win.

Ricky Paulding led the Tigers (9-10, 4-5 Big 12) with 16 points to place four Mizzou players in double figures.

The Huskers travel to College Station, Texas, this Wednesday, Feb. 11, to face Texas A&M. Tip-off between Huskers and Aggies is set for 7 p.m.

Nebraska postgame Notes
** Nebraska head coach Barry Collier and Missouri head coach Quin Snyder, along with their staffs, wore sneakers with their suits at today's game to promote the National Coaches vs. Cancer Awareness program, which has helped raise millions of dollars for cancer research in the past nine years.

** Nebraska's 12-point lead at the intermission, 36-24, marked the 10th time this season NU lead by double figures at the break. The Huskers have led at the intermission in 12 of 13 home games this season.

** Junior point guard Marcus Neal Jr. scored 11 points in the opening frame, hitting 4-of-5 attempts from the field. He finished the game with 14 points, his second straight double-figure scoring effort.

** Senior forward Andrew Drevo had a career-high four steals, and finished with seven points and five rebounds.

** Nebraska's 35 points in the first half was its most in a period since the second half of the Baylor contest on Jan. 21. NU topped that mark by putting up 42 points in the second period.

** The Huskers' win snapped a six-game Missouri winning streak dating to 2001. It was the Huskers' largest margin of victory since a 23-point win in 1997.

** The Huskers hit a season-high 12 three-pointers, with Brian Conklin going 5-for-5 from three-point range and Marcus Neal Jr. going 4-for-4 from behind the arc. It is the second time this season Conklin has hit at least five threes in a game.

** Nebraska shot above 40.0 percent from the field for the sixth time in eight Big 12 contests, finishing at 45.8 percent. The Huskers' 57.1 percent shooting from three-point range was the sixth time this season NU hit better than 50.0 percent from behind the arc.

** The Huskers' nine turnovers were its fewest since recording a season-low seven against Arizona State in the third game of the season.

** WIth the victory over Missouri, the Huskers have 12 wins this season, one more than all of last year. The win was Coach Collier's 50th at Nebraska.

** Conklin's 17 points led Nebraska and tied his season high, which he set against Minnesota. He also hit five treys against the Gophers.

** Marcus Neal Jr. had four assists, one off his season high. Overall the Huskers had 16 assists against just nine turnovers.

Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder
On the game
"We got outplayed, obviously. I thought Nebraska played very well. From when the game tipped, they were quicker to loose balls. We bent at the waist and they were on us. It was the same thing on the boards. They gained a lot of confidence from second shots. That is when they first started hitting threes. It was obviously not a game that we deserved to win."

On what the team is missing
"Collectively we just have to be tougher. It is something that you can talk about until you're blue in the face, but when you get on the floor you've got to be men and we didn't play like men today."

Missouri Guard Josh Kroenke
On the game
"We had a lot of ups and downs. Nebraska came out ready to play and shot the ball really well."

On the danger of falling apart
"There is always a danger of that for any team. But if anybody can pull this thing out, it is these guys in the locker room. No one is giving up on this season right now. We're all going to get right back to work and get right back to practice to get ready for Colorado."

Missouri Guard Rickey Paulding
On the game
"Nebraska came out with more energy and more passion then we did today. They definitely were on their 'A' game. Hats off to them- they played their game."

On losing
"We're a team- we're not playing our 'A' game, but as far as the regular season, we know what we didn't do tonight and we aren't giving up. Coach is not giv ing up on us and we're not giving up on ourselves."

Nebraska Head Coach Barry Collier
"I thought we played with great energy. We did a better job of getting into their shooters."

On Marcus Neal
"He's an experienced player who has waited his turn and has tried to help our basketball team. He never panicked or pouted when he wasn't playing much. We're just kind of searching for the hot hand while still trying give a good amount of rest to people so they can go hard when they are in there. The difference in the game for him was the effort, the intensity and the determination to finish the game."

On the difference between this game and the K-State game Feb. 4
"I thought we were more aggressive with our defense. We got into their shooters a little bit more, and made it a little harder to get it inside. I think a big part of that was rebounding against a big team that missed a fair amount of shots.

On the balance of Nebraska's effort
"We play a lot of people. We start different people for time to time, but no one is immune to struggling.

On Nebraska's position in the Big 12 race
"We're not anywhere near where we want to be, but you can't get there three or four at time. You just have to take care of business today. We've been trying to get to the next level, and we felt that we improved through the preseason, and were in solid shape and prepared for the league, and we played some good basketball in the league, but not enough to break through often enough. This gives us a little more confidence."

Nebraska Center Brian Conklin
On the win
"This was a huge confidence builder. I'm very proud of our guys"

About the victory as confidence builder
"Tonight's game was really huge. Once again, it doesn't come without great plays from defense. They did a great job. We knew we were really going to have to play hard this game. At Missouri we jumped off the same way we did tonight, but then intensity took over. But tonight we were determined not to let that happen."

Nebraska Guard Nate Johnson
On the win
"It feels good to win. A lot of the games we've played we didn't have a big lead. It didn't come easy. We had to keep protecting the ball. The harder we played, the more successful it was. We have to be ready to show up and play."

On the win at home
"We didn't worry. We were at home, in front of people who come out to support us. It was our effort, intensity on defense, and willingness to get it done."

On the game being a relief
"You can't concentrate on the feeling of the relief. We have to play harder day in and day out. That is our main focus right now, continue to play hard and aggressive."

On who has kept the team together throughout the season
"The coaching staff has kept this team together and the 16 guys on the team. We can't keep our heads down. Anything can happen, the season is not over, anything can happen in the next seven, eight games.. We have to have confidence in ourselves and be humble. "