Huskers Fall to Bluejays

Lincoln --- Marcus Neal's three-point attempt came up just short, hitting the front of the rim at the buzzer as Creighton held on for 50-48 victory over Nebraska at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Saturday.

Playing in front of a sellout crowd of 13,602 fans, the Huskers and Bluejays both played great defense. The teams combined to hit just 33-of-95 from the floor, but Creighton edged past Nebraska for the third straight time in Lincoln by hitting 12-of-13 attempts from the foul line. NU converted on just 7-of-19 at the charity stripe.

Kellen Miliner hit a jumper with less than one second remaining to give the Bluejays the 50-48 advantage. Miliner's shot came off an out-of-bounds play, as Nate Funk's driving layup attempt with three second remaining was blocked out of bounds by Nebraska's John Turek and Wes Wilkinson.

After Creighton took its third and final lead of the game, the Huskers nearly pulled off the comeback. Following a Nebraska timeout, Turek inbounded the ball with 0.7 seconds remaining on the clock. His long pass was on the money to Neal, who came clean off a screen and launched a good shot that came up just short.

Neal paced the Huskers for the second straight game as he had a team-high 14 points. The senior from Annapolis, Md., hit 4-of-6 three-point attempts to tie his career high for made treys despite missing his final attempt.

Neal's three-pointer with 2:24 to go gave the Huskers the lead back at 45-42. The Huskers trailed 42-39 with 5:35 to play but held the Bluejays without a point for the next three minutes while running off six straight points. Turek hit a free throw with 3:21 left to make it 42-40 in favor of the visitors. After Turek missed his second free throw, Jason Dourisseau came up with the rebound and made a nice baseline drive to his right for a layup to pull Nebraska even at 42-all before Neal's three-pointer brought the house to its feet.

Nate Funk connected on a layup and Dane Watts hit a pair of free throws for a 46-45 lead with 1:21 to play. Senior point guard Tyler McKinney put Creighton up by three with 38 seconds left on a jumper in the lane, but the Huskers were not finished. Dourisseau then banked in a three-pointer from an impossible angle just 13 seconds later to tie the game at 48-48. It was just Dourisseau's second made three-pointer this season.  

Funk's drive in the lane resulted in a blocked shot by Turek before the winning inbounds play by Miliner. It was the third time this season Creighton has won a game on the last possession.

An exciting finish was set up from the start, as neither team was able to led by more than four points and they had combined for just 10 points in the first five minutes of the game. Nebraska started off poorly, hitting just two of its first 12 attempts before hitting stride in the final six minutes of the opening frame.

With the Huskers trailing 14-10, Neal hit a jumper and Wes Wilkinson drilled his second three-poniter of the game to give the Huskers a one-point advantage with 4:55 before intermission. Following a Turek block at the other end, Neal drained a long three-pointer to put NU ahead 18-14.

Turek aded a free throw after a Miliner jumper and Joe McCray hit a free throw with 1:20 left for a 20-16 lead. Following a pair of Funk free throws, McCray then added a jumper for a 22-18 lead at the intermission.

Nebraska finished the game hitting 35.4 percent (17-of-48) from the floor, but held Creighton to 34.0 percent (16-of-47), the fourth time this year the Huskers have limited an opponent to less than 35 percent from the floor. The Huskers gained a 39-32 advantage on the glass and picked up eight blocked shots, including a season-high four blocks from Turek. It was the most blocks by the Huskers since recording nine against Murray State on Dec. 30, 2000.

Neal had 14 points to pace Nebraska while Turek added a season-high tying 10 points, including hitting 6-of-10 from the line. Wilkinson added a season-high eight points and six rebounds while Dourisseau had seven points and freshman Aleks Maric added six. Maric and Dourisseau tied for game-high honors with seven rebounds each.

Nebraska returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 18, when it plays host to North Carolina A&T at the Devaney Center. The Huskers and Aggies tip off at 7:05 p.m.