Huskers Fall Short Against Sydney Kings

Sutherland, NSW, Australia -- Jake Muhleisen scored 25 points while John Turek and Jason Dourisseau each added a double-double, but it was not enough to pick up the win, as the Nebraska men’s basketball team fell to the Sydney Kings, 112-98, Wednesday at the Sutherland Arena.

The loss was the second in as many days for the Huskers, who conclude a three-game stretch in a span of less than 48 hours on Thursday against the Australian Institute for Sport at 1:30 p.m.

"We haven’t made the necessary adjustments yet to handle the pace of the game," said Coach Barry Collier. "There were 122 possessions tonight, and we normally have 80 possessions in a 40-minute game. So there are more minutes in the game and a faster pace with the 24-second shot clock, but we still managed to battle back in the second half and were in a good position at the end of the third quarter before tailing off."

Nebraska struggled down the stretch as the Kings -- the two-time defending National Basketball League champions -- pulled away behind a 10-0 run midway through the fourth period. Sydney outscored the Huskers 31-18 in the fourth quarter, its best scoring period of the contest.

Forward Ben Knight led the charge with three straight baskets to begin the surge before finishing with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Knight added 11 rebounds while David Barlow was the second King with a double-double with 25 points and 10 boards. Knight and Barlow combined for 36 of Sydney’s 58 second-half points.

Turek added a pair of free throws to end the Huskers’ scoring drought with less than seven minutes left in the game. After asserting himself at the start of the contest, he went on to hit 5-of-13 field-goal attempts and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe. Turek scored nine early points to help NU to a 14-6 lead less than six minutes into the game and then turned up the defensive pressure, as he added 12 rebounds with three blocked shots and a pair of steals in 34 minutes.

Dourisseau nearly matched Turek’s effort as he produced 14 points with 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. He hit just 5-of-16 attempts from the floor, but went 4-of-5 from the charity stripe and ignited Nebraska’s third-quarter surge by scoring five of NU’s first seven points of the second half.

Muhleisen continued his torrid pace on the offensive end, as he hit 9-of-18 field-goal attempts for a team-high 25 points. He chipped in four boards, three steals and one assist in 39 minutes. Muhleisen dominated the third period when he scored 11 points while keying Nebraska’s defensive effort.

Marcus Neal Jr. and Bronsen Schliep each added 14 points, with Schliep hitting 5-of-6 attempts from the floor and 4-of-5 at the free throw line. Charles Richardson Jr. added four points with five assists against one turnover and a steal in 23 minutes.

The Huskers hit 41.3 percent (33-of-80) from the floor, but managed just 13.6 percent (3-of-22) shooting from beyond the arc. Sydney hit 41.4 percent (36-of-87) but made the most of its long-range attack by hitting 38.2 percent (13-of-34). NU held a 56-52 margin on the glass while getting to the foul line much more frequently than its first contest Tuesday. NU hit 29-of-36 free throw attempts Wednesday, while Sydney hit 27-of-40.

Nebraska continues its Australian Summer Tour on Thursday, and follows up with a fourth game this week on Saturday at Wollongong. NU then travels north to Cairnes, where the Huskers will play a pair of contests against the Cairnes Taipans before returning home on Aug. 20.

Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Sydney 8/11/04 7:30 p.m. at Sutherland, NSW, Australia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 01 DOURISSEAU, Jason... 5-15 0-5 4-5 3 5 8 1 14 2 4 0 2 33 03 RICHARDSON, Charles. 2-4 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 5 4 5 1 0 2 24 05 STEGALL, Shuan...... 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 10 NEAL, Marcus........ 5-14 2-10 2-2 0 2 2 1 14 3 3 0 0 27 11 WILKINSON, Wes...... 1-6 0-1 0-0 2 4 6 3 2 1 0 0 0 16 12 MUHLEISEN, Jake..... 9-16 1-3 6-7 0 4 4 3 25 1 2 0 2 39 15 SCHLIEP, Bronsen.... 5-6 0-0 4-5 0 3 3 4 14 1 3 0 1 26 21 SIMMS, Corey........ 1-3 0-0 2-2 2 3 5 2 4 0 4 0 0 26 44 TUREK, John......... 5-14 0-1 8-11 4 8 12 6 18 1 3 4 3 34 45 WILBRAND, Tony...... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 3 3 3 1 0 1 0 0 11 TEAM................ 1 5 6 Totals.............. 33-78 3-21 29-36 12 42 54 28 98 14 21 4 10 240

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% OT: 33-78 42.3% Game: 42.3% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% OT: 3-21 14.3% Game: 14.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% OT: 29-36 80.6% Game: 80.6% 3,1

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Sydney TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 04 CARTER, B.J......... 2-11 1-7 0-0 0 2 2 2 5 1 1 0 0 27 05 DANN, Graeme........ 1-7 1-3 1-4 1 3 4 4 4 5 2 0 0 21 08 KENDALL, Luke....... 5-15 4-10 2-2 1 4 5 3 16 4 2 1 2 34 11 BRENNAN, Luke....... 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 10 12 SHERIDAN, Brad...... 6-10 3-7 1-1 3 0 3 4 16 3 2 1 2 30 13 WHEELER, Brett...... 1-5 0-0 0-2 1 10 11 5 2 2 2 1 0 29 20 BARLOW, David....... 6-11 0-2 13-16 2 8 10 4 25 1 0 0 1 26 24 MARTIN, Luke........ 5-9 4-5 2-2 0 2 2 1 16 2 5 0 3 27 42 KNIGHT, Ben......... 9-16 0-0 8-13 6 5 11 2 26 4 4 0 2 36 TEAM................ 1 1 Totals.............. 36-87 13-34 27-40 15 37 52 27 112 22 18 3 10 240

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% OT: 36-87 41.4% Game: 41.4% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% OT: 13-34 38.2% Game: 38.2% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% OT: 27-40 67.5% Game: 67.5% 6

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Brett Hogan, Steven Russell Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Sydney-None. Attendance: 300 Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT OT2 Total Nebraska...................... 31 15 34 18 - 98 Sydney........................ 25 29 27 31 - 112 Game 2 of Australian Summer Tour. Game consists of four, 12-minute quarters.