Husker Comeback Falls Short

Lincoln ?Nebraska nearly pulled off a marvelous comeback, erasing an 18-point first-half deficit, but No. 25 Oklahoma held on for a 52-50 win at the Devaney Center Sunday afternoon.

Lawrence McKenzie scored a game-high 18 points for the Sooners, including a three-pointer with 2:24 remaining that broke a 45-all tie to give the Sooners the lead for good. McKenzie scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, including five three-pointers, helping OU improve to 13-4 overall and even its Big 12 record at 3-3 with its third straight win.

The Huskers (11-6, 1-5 Big 12) trailed in double figures for the first 33 minutes before several defensive stops led a rally that put the upset within their grasp.

Down 44-30 with 13:48 remaining, Nate Johnson’s acrobatic three-point play ignited a 15-0 Husker run, as NU held the Sooners without a point for a span of 10:18. A Jake Muhleisen jumper, a free throw by John Turek and a three-pointer by Brian Conklin pulled NU with five with 5:39 remaining. Johnson’s scoop shot and a pair of Andrew Drevo free throws cut the deficit to one before Conklin’s two free throws with 3:28 remaining gave the Huskers the lead for the first time all day at 45-44.

McKenzie, who was shut out nearly the entire second half, tied the game with a free throw on OU’s next possession then drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to give OU a 48-45 lead with 2:24 left. NU was unable to regain the momentum after McKenzie’s trey, although NU cut the Sooner lead to two points twice in the final minute before the Sooners held on for the two-point win.

Muhleisen led the Huskers with 11 points and six rebounds, while Conklin came off the bench to score 10 points and grab a season-high seven rebounds. The Huskers out-rebounded the Sooners 33-31. Jabahri Brown joined McKenzie, who also grabbed 10 rebounds, in double figures with 15 points, while no other Sooner chipped in more than five points.

The Huskers were hindered by poor shooting from the foul line, connecting on just 10-of-18 free throws, including several front ends of 1-and-1s during their second-half rally.

The Sooners, who were 10th in the league in three-point shooting entering the contest, hit 7-of-14 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes to build a 36-21 halftime lead. McKenzie, who scored OU’s first nine points, finished the half with 14 points.

The Huskers got out of the gate slowly, missing 14 of its first 16 shots, and trailed 19-6 eight minutes into the game. Muhleisen and Turek, who scored eight of his nine points in the first half, led a Husker run that trimmed the deficit to 21-13, but the Sooners quickly responded. McKenzie triggered an 8-0 OU run with another three-pointer, as OU extend the lead to 16 points. The Sooners led by as much as 18 points before taking a 36-21 lead into the locker room.

The Huskers travel to Manhattan, Kan., to take on Kansas Sate Wednesday, Feb. 4. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network and can be heard on Huskers.com.

Nebraska Head Coach Barry Collier
"I thought Oklahoma played good defensively in the first half. Their defense led to us failing to penetrate as we should and not looking inside. We were late getting to the ball. We were not the aggressor. There was an about-face in the second half and we ended up with a pretty tight game. It came down to us finishing off with some good defense."

On Lawrence McKenzie
"We knew they had four guys who could shoot the ball well from the perimeter percentage-wise. He hit a couple deep threes early in the half before we changed the way we defended. He hit a couple behind the zone. He clearly had his best shooting game from that distance. We knew that 67 percent of his shots on the season were threes, so we knew he was looking for that. He had a great game.

On second half adjustments
"We stayed in front better and changed the way we were guarding screens. The guys had more determination. It was more of players making plays in the second half than it was any changes we made. It was a lot more of our players making the decision to play with more aggressiveness to play each possession to a standard that we're capable of. I think you saw two different halves there where we played with passion and intensity in the second half, but we weren't as sharp in the first half. We were a lot sharper in the second half and we need that for the whole game."

On the tough loss
"There is only one kind of loss and that's the one that stinks. We're trying to focus on our level of play. It's much more import."

Forward Brian Conklin
On Oklahoma's Defense
"Their defense was unlike many you play against. It's like there's seven or eight of them out there. You throw a regular pass and there are three or four of them after it."

On the Loss
"Each loss is the same?they all hurt. There is still an 'L' that goes up on the board."

Marcus Neal
On Lawrence McKenzie
"We knew he could shoot the three and drive it. We didn't expect him to go off like that."

On the loss
"It's tough because we were right there. They are ranked and we feel as though we can play with anybody, so we expected to win going into the game. It's tough when we're right there and we end up losing the game. We can take a lot of toughness from this game--more of a mental toughness than a physical toughness."

Oklahoma Head Coach Kelvin Sampson
On Oklahoma's defense
"I thought our defense was good. We choked off the three and they didn't get behind us."

On the Sooners playing on the road
"When you're on the road, it seems like every time they need a big shot, they made it."

On playing with four freshmen
"It seems almost unfair for us to be playing with four freshmen, but look how much better they're getting because of it."

On Lawrence McKenzie
"There are certain kids you recruit that you know have a chance to be something special. He has a tremendous feel for the game of basketball."

On the team
"We're not a great team. We've been a one or two seed the last few years. I don't know that we'll approach that this year, but I like coaching this team."

Oklahoma Center Jabahri Brown
On the game
"It was a big game because any road game is a big game, and the is one we needed to get."

On the performance of Lawrence McKenzie
"Lawrence just took it upon himself to get back on top."

On Oklahoma's youth on the floor
"It's like Coach (Kelvin) Sampson says, 'There are no more freshmen at this time in the season."

Oklahoma Guard Lawrence McKenzie
On starting the game 4 for 4 from three-point range
"The first shot felt real good. And so when the first one feels good, I'm going to test it."

On Oklahoma's balanced attack
"This whole season, each game has a different person step up, and today was my day, so I stepped it up."

On Oklahoma's second half struggles
"Everyone's mindset was just to try and get the game over with."

Nebraska postgame notes vs. Oklahoma
** Senior forward Brian Conklin went 2-for-2 from three-point range and has now hit 20 of his last 26 three-point attempts over the past eight games. Conklin also added a season-high seven rebounds to lead the Huskers.

** NU outrebounded Oklahoma by a 33-31 mark, the 12th time in 17 games this season NU has outrebounded an opponent. NU outrebounded just 12 opponents in 30 games last season. The Huskers entered the game ranked in the top 25 nationally in rebounding margin at plus-7.6.

** Jake Muhleisen led the Huskers with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. Muhleisen had recorded 10 points in the previous two games combined. He also had six rebounds with an assist and steal in 28 minutes.

** Nebraska hit 40.0 percent from three-point line, marking the eighth time this season NU had connected on at least 40 percent from behind the arc, including four of the past five games.

** The Huskers recorded a season-low 10 personal fouls, while Oklahoma was called for 19 fouls.

** Nebraska was held to a season-low 37.8 percent shooting from the floor, after entering the game ranked 10th nationally in field-goal percentage. NU shot 30.4 percent in the first half, just the fifth time this season NU had been held below 40 percent for any half.

** NU’s 21 points in the opening period were a season low, as Nebraska trailed 36-21 at the intermission. The previous low was 23 points against Creighton on the road. It was also the first time this season the Huskers trailed at half time at home.

** Nebraska hit just 10-of-18 free throws (55.6 percent), after entering the game hitting 70.7 on the season.

** Nate Johnson, the Huskers’ leading scorer, finished with five points on 2-of-5 shooting from the floor. He also added two assists, one steal and his first blocked shot of the season.