Huskers Hold off Aggies

College Station, Texas -- Guard Nate Johnson scored a game-high 19 points and forward Andrew Drevo added 18 points and season-high tying nine rebounds to help the Nebraska men's basketball team to an 83-77 victory over Texas A&M here Wednesday.

The victory snapped a 13-game conference road losing streak by the Huskers, who improved to 13-7 overall and 3-6 in Big 12 play. Texas A&M, the last league team to lose to the Huskers away from Lincoln in 2002, fell to 7-13 on the season and remained winless in Big 12 action.

Johnson and Drevo combined to hit 16-of-18 attempts from the free throw line. Nebraska recorded season highs for made (32) and attempted free throws (37) while topping 80 percent from the charity stripe for the third time this season. Johnson added six free throws down the stretch, including a pair with three seconds remaining to close the scoring, as NU hit all 12 of its attempts from the foul line in the final two minutes.

Every free throw was needed as the Huskers were able to connect on just two field goals in the final 14 minutes of action, but hit 25-of-26 from the free throw line during that stretch. The teams combined for 57 fouls in the contest, with A&M hitting just 21-of-34 foul shots to drop their ninth straight game in league play.

Nebraska got out to a quick start, as the Huskers opened an 8-1 lead just three minutes into the contest. After the Aggies cut the lead to 8-7, Johnson scored three straight baskets in just over a minute. The spurt turned into a 15-3 run as NU converted on seven straight attempts to open a 23-10 advantage with 10:04 left in the opening period.

Texas A&M chipped away at the lead by clamping down on the defensive end. The Aggies held NU without a field goal in the final five minutes of the half before taking a 33-32 lead on Bobby Leach's jumper with two seconds remaining in the period, giving A&M its first lead of the game. The Aggies comeback was fueled by a 12-2 advantage on the offensive glass, as A&M took a 22-15 advantage on the glass in the first period. Overall, the Aggies, who are the top rebounding team in the Big 12, outrebounded the Huskers 40-33 with an amazing 22 offensive boards.

The Aggies took their final lead of the game just a minute into the second half, as Jesse King's three-pointer gave A&M a 36-35 advantage. King led three Aggies in double figures with a team-high 18 points, while Acie Law added 15 and Leandro Garcia-Morales chipped in 14 points.

A&M's super sophomore, Antoine Wright, the league's freshman of the year in 2003, was held to three points, all from the foul line, as he went 0-of-8 from the floor including 0-of-4 from three-point range. For the game, A&M hit just 4-of-20 three-point attempts (20.0 percent), the lowest three-point field-goal percentage the Huskers have allowed on the road this season. The Aggies finished the game hitting 38.2 percent from the field.

Following King's trey, the Huskers offense kicked in, helping NU to a 15-0 run over the next four minutes as Nebraska took a 50-36 lead on Marcus Neal Jr.'s three-pointer with 14:50 left in the game. NU's offense then stalled, but the Huskers picked up the slack by draining free throws the rest of the way. 

Nebraska returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 15, when it plays host to nationally ranked Kansas at the Devaney Center. The game will tip off at 12:30 p.m. and can be seen on ABC. The NU Athletic Department issued a "Red Alert" for the contest, as all Husker fans are encouraged to wear red to the game. The Nebraska football coaching staff will also be introduced to the public at halftime of the contest.

Nebraska postgame notes:
** The Huskers snapped a 13-game conference road losing streak with its 83-77 victory over the Aggies. NU's last league victory away from the Devaney Center came in 2002, when the Huskers took an 82-72 win over Texas A&M in College Station.

** The 83 points were the most by the Huskers in a conference road game since scoring 87 in an overtime victory against Colorado in 2001. The last time NU scored at least 83 points in regulation of a road league game came in a 96-81 victory over No. 25 Oklahoma in Norman on Jan. 20, 1999.

** The teams combined for 58 fouls, with NU collecting a season-high 28 fouls. A&M had an NU opponent season high 27 personal fouls. The Aggies hit just 21-of-34 free throw attempts (61.8 percent).

** Nebraska recorded season highs for made (32) and attempted (37) free throws. The Huskers hit 86.5 percent from the charity stripe against the Aggies, marking the third time this season NU hit at least 80.0 percent from the foul line.

** Senior Nate Johnson, who ranks third in the league in free throw shooting, hit at least eight free throws in a game for the fourth time this season, going 9-of-10 from the line against A&M. Johnson finished with a team-high 19 points, his highest point total since scoring 23 points in the Big 12 opener at Iowa State Jan. 10. Johnson added eight rebounds, one off his career- and season-high set at home against Tennessee in the non-conference slate.

** The Huskers hit 50.0 percent from the field against A&M, marking the second time this season NU shot at least 50.0 percent away from the Devaney Center. Nebraska hit 52.0 percent from the field in the first half, its best shooting performance in the opening period on the road this year.

** Senior forward Andrew Drevo scored 18 points while recording a team-high nine rebounds. The nine boards tied his season high, and were part of NU's 33 rebounds, as the Huskers were outrebounded 40-33. A&M recorded 22 offensive boards, an NU opponent season high.

** Nebraska held the Aggies to 38.2 percent shooting from the field, the third time this season the Huskers limited an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting away from Lincoln. A&M hit just 4-of-20 three-point attempts (20.0 percent), an NU opponent road low this season. It was the third time this season the Huskers held an opponent to less than 30.0 percent shooting from long range on the road.

** Guard Marcus Neal Jr. hit 2-of-4 three-point attempts and has now hit 6-of-8 from downtown over the past two games. Neal added a season-high tying five assists to lead the Huskers.

** NU had 19 assists against 11 turnovers. The 19 assists were NU's second-highest total in league play and tied the Huskers' highest total on the road this season. Nebraska also had 19 assists on the road in a win at Big Ten foe Minnesota.

** Senior forward Brian Conklin hit 2-of-4 three-point attempts and has now hit 28-of-43 attempts from long range over the past 11 games. Conklin, who leads the league in three-point field-goal percentage, finished with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a season-high two blocked shots.

** Nebraska now has three wins in league play in nine games, after winning just three times in 16 Big 12 games last year. The Huskers' 13 wins (with seven regular-season games remaining) tie for the second-most under Coach Collier and are two more than last season.

Postgame quotes:
Nebraska Coach Barry Collier: "We are operating on nine conference games now. Any road win in this league is great. Any team that comes in here that wins really has to overcome A&M's effort and rebounding. A&M is a great rebounding team and we found that out today. It was a very physical game. We weren't getting very many field goal attempts, so the free throws were the difference."

Texas A&M Coach Melvin Watkins: "Before the game I wrote some things on the board that I thought we need to avoid. We foul too much, we are not as well defensively as we should be, and our execution is going down. We are playing hard, but we have mental breakdowns where we turn the ball over and make mistakes. In the opening minutes of the second half we were making mistakes and got down so we made some substitutions. Once again, I thought our starters energy level was not what it should be. No one deserves to play if they don't play hard.

"I didn't think (Antoine Wright) was playing with the energy he needed to play with. Kevin Turner didn't play at all today for reasons I am not going to discuss. Guys have to understand you have to come in and play hard no matter who you are. They have to play hard and within the game plan.

"I looked out there at one point and we had three freshmen out there on the floor. It doesn't matter who is out there if they are playing hard. We are not over the hump. We are playing some of the younger kids, but we aren't there yet. We rebound the ball well, maybe the best in the conference, but we aren't making the plays down the stretch to get us over the hump."

Texas A&M point guard Acie Law: "Every time we try to get a stop we always get a stupid foul. It's just attitude. They shot 50% and 37 free throws. We can't play defense like this and win.

"In the second half we have been coming out sluggish. We have to come out with more energy. We play hard but we always seem to dig a hole and climb back out. We need to come out with better intensity. Sometimes the hole is just too deep. There is always some little mistake when we are right there that just gets us.

"It is tough, very tough. I think we want to win, we practice like it, but we just can't stop anyone."