Huskers Clamp Down on Bears

Lincoln -- After struggling on offense most of the first half, Nebraska picked up its third win of the season by using a better defensive intensity in the second frame while running to a 64-34 victory over Morgan State Monday in front of 5,888 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers (3-1) held MSU without a field goal for the first 9:27 of the second period until the Bears’ Christopher Grant hit a jumper in the lane. By that point, it was too late.

Morgan State (2-5), which hit just two of its first 16 shots after halftime, trailed by 21, 48-27, after the basket and never got below 20 the rest of the way. The Bears finished the game hitting 24.0 percent (12-of-50) from the floor, and just 15.0 percent (3-of-20) from three-point range. MSU recorded only three baskets in the second frame (3-of-23, 13.0 percent), and the 12 points in the second period tied for the fewest allowed under Coach Collier at Nebraska.

"We hoped to improve tonight by playing with a higher level of intensity and by playing smarter," said NU coach Barry Collier. "I think, by and large, we did those two things. We’re not perfect, but we’re getting better."

Nebraska broke open the game early in the second period.

After a pair of Marcus Neal Jr. baskets gave NU a quick 12-point lead, Joe McCray scored eight points in a 2:07 span to move NU ahead by 19. McCray finished with 12 points to pace the Huskers, and has scored double figures in each of his four collegiate games, including leading NU in scoring three times.

McCray’s outburst helped the Huskers to a 13-1 run, which came on the heels of a 10-2 surge at the end of the first half. At one point, Nebraska hit seven straight shots in the 23-3 spurt. McCray’s baskets, along with free throws by Aleks Maric and a tip-in by Jason Dourisseau gave the Huskers a 48-25 lead with 13:39 left in the game before Grant’s basket ended the MSU dry spell.

The Huskers got off to sluggish start, hitting just three of their first eight shots to open the game. Maric, who along with McCray made his first career start, recorded four points and three rebounds before the first media timeout. He finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, just missing his third double-double of the season.

Morgan State did not fare much better against the Husker defensive pressure in the opening frame. MSU hit just 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from the floor in the first period, including just 2-of-10 from three-point range. The Bears kept it close by not committing their first turnover until 7:04 remaining before the half.

The Huskers trailed once in the opening stanza, 11-10, until Charles Richardson Jr. drained the Huskers’ first three-pointer of the night for a 13-11 Husker advantage. NU could not pull ahead by more than three points until Dourisseau’s putback of a Maric missed shot for a 24-20 lead with 2:19 left before intermission.

Jake Muhleisen started the 10-2 run to end the first period with a drive down the right side of the lane that resulted in a scoop shot off the glass and a 22-20 lead. Maric added a pair of free throws and McCray had an athletic drive up the left side of the lane for a 28-20 advantage. Turek ended the first-half scoring with a jumper for a 30-22 advantage at the break.

Dourisseau added with 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals while John Turek had eight points and six boards off the bench. Sam Brand led the Bears with seven points, 11 below his season average.

Nebraska returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 8, when it faces Minnesota at the Devaney Center. The Huskers and Golden Gophers tip off at 8 p.m. in a nationally televised game on ESPN2. Fans are encouraged to bring unwrapped toys to donate to the Toys for Tots program. The U.S. Marines will be at the doors to collect the items for needy children.

Official Basketball Box Score Morgan State vs Nebraska 12/6/04 7:05 p.m. at Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Center) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Morgan State TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 12 EVANS,Alphonso...... f 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 1 0 14 42 ANDREWS,Aaron....... f 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 5 6 2 0 0 0 2 0 28 01 MATHIS, Timothy..... g 2-5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 4 1 3 0 0 14 04 GRANT,Christopher... g 2-10 0-3 1-2 0 6 6 0 5 0 3 0 1 24 21 BRAND, Sam.......... g 2-11 1-8 2-2 1 1 2 3 7 0 2 0 1 24 03 TIMUS,Ronald........ 0-3 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 11 05 MCLEAN,Joseph....... 1-5 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 0 0 15 11 TERRELL,Theodore.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 10 13 LAWLER,Aaron........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 9 23 AUJLA,Karanvir...... 2-4 2-4 0-0 0 3 3 3 6 0 0 0 1 17 32 WARD,Christopher.... 1-1 0-0 2-4 1 2 3 0 4 1 1 0 1 9 33 BERKLEY,Timothy..... 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 3 2 0 2 0 1 18 55 MCIVER,Joseph....... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 TEAM................ 1 1 Totals.............. 12-51 3-20 7-10 5 26 31 19 34 5 17 3 6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 12-51 23.5% Game: 23.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 3-20 15.0% Game: 15.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% Game: 70.0% 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 31 Maric, Aleks........ c 3-6 0-0 4-5 2 7 9 2 10 1 2 0 2 25 01 Dourisseau, Jason... g 4-6 1-1 2-5 3 5 8 1 11 2 1 1 3 29 02 McCray, Joe......... g 4-9 2-5 2-2 1 5 6 1 12 1 1 1 2 27 10 Neal, Marcus........ g 3-8 0-5 0-0 0 2 2 0 6 2 2 0 1 27 12 Muhleisen, Jake..... g 2-6 0-2 1-2 0 6 6 3 5 1 3 1 0 25 03 Richardson, Charles. 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 0 2 0 1 11 11 Wilkinson, Wes...... 0-3 0-1 5-6 1 2 3 1 5 0 1 1 0 12 15 Schliep, Bronsen.... 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 5 21 Simms, Corey........ 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 1 15 44 Turek, John......... 3-7 0-0 2-5 2 4 6 1 8 0 1 1 1 21 45 Wilbrand, Tony...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 TEAM................ 1 1 2 Totals.............. 22-52 4-17 16-25 12 35 47 12 64 10 14 5 12 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 22-52 42.3% Game: 42.3% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 4-17 23.5% Game: 23.5% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 16-25 64.0% Game: 64.0% 1

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Bill O'Neill, Bill Kennedy, Steve Olson Technical fouls: Morgan State-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Morgan State.................. 22 12 - 34 Nebraska...................... 30 34 - 64