Johnson's Layup Leads Huskers to Win

Omaha, Neb. ? Seniors Nate Johnson and Andrew Drevo refused to let their season end, leading the Nebraska men’s basketball team to a 71-70 win over Creighton in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament Tuesday night in front of 13,483 fans at the Qwest Center OMAHA.

 

After getting down 65-56 with 6:26 remaining in the game, the Huskers came storming back with a 7-1 run to cut the CU lead to three points. Johnson then cut the lead to 68-65 by hitting two free throws at the 1:41 mark. Johnson was unstoppable, scoring the game-winning layup with 12 ticks left on the clock. Jake Muhleisen followed it up by blocking a Nate Funk shot to seal the victory.

 

The win marked Nebraska’s first postseason victory since the 1998-99 season, in which NU went 1-1 in the NIT with a win over UNLV at home and a loss at TCU. The win Tuesday avenged the Huskers’ early season loss to the Bluejays and marked the first Nebraska win over Creighton in six tries, including the first win of the senior’s careers over the in-state rival.

 

Drevo contributed his fourth 20-point game of the season, after going five games without scoring more than 13 points. Drevo was just one of the Huskers’ many weapons inside as they outscored CU 47-22 inside the paint.

 

Muhleisen put in a season-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 2-of-3 from three-point range. The Lincoln native also posted five boards on the night to help lead the Huskers.

 

The Huskers outrebounded the Bluejays 43-25, the 15th opponent this season Nebraska has dominated on the boards. While Creighton only turned the ball over six times in the contest, Nebraska converted those turnovers into 16 points.

 

Brian Conklin was fired up from the tip, winning the first rebound of the game and collecting six more in the first half to tie his season high in the first 20 minutes of action. In the second half he grabbed one board to make eight on the night.

 

The first half opened with runs, with a 10-point run fueled by seven points by Drevo to put NU on top 13-4 with just more than 12 minutes remaining in the period. Creighton came back with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 13-11 two minutes later.

 

The game saw 14 lead changes and three ties, including eight lead changes in the first half.

 

The Huskers ended the first period with an 8-1 run, taking a 36-29 lead into the locker room. Muhleisen and Drevo provided most of the NU fire power with 11 points each in the opening stanza.

 

Nebraska will face the winner of Wednesday night’s game between Troy State-Niagara. The game will tip at 7:05 p.m. at the BobDevaneySportsCenter.

 

Tickets are available to the general public for the Huskers’ first home postseason game in five years. Fans can purchase Section A, B and C padded seats for $10 and C plastic and upper benches for $8 at the NU Athletic Ticket Office starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday and online at Huskers.com. Tickets in the student section (Red Zone) are available in the $10 range and will be reserved.

 

All season ticket holders already had a chance to purchase tickets to NU’s postseason home contests. Those who made the postseason ticket purchase have already received their tickets. Friday’s contest will be Game 1 at the DevaneyCenter for season ticket holders.