Turek?s Career Night Lifts NU to 91-57 Win

Lincoln ? John Turek scored 21 of his career-high tying 24 points in the first half, as Nebraska tuned up for Saturday’s showdown with third-ranked Kansas with a 91-57 victory over Utah Valley State Tuesday evening at the Devaney Center.

 

The 6-foot-9 senior from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was nearly unstoppable in the paint, hitting nine of 11 shots in the opening 20 minutes. He nearly single-handedly outscored UtahValleyState, which totaled only 24 first-half points.

 

Turek, whose previous season high was a 17-point effort in a double-overtime win against Kansas State on Jan. 28, was 10-of-14 shooting from the field. He matched his personal best of 24 points set against Fairleigh Dickinson in November of 2003.

 

The senior, who hit his first six shots from the floor, also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in 26 minutes to post his first double-double of the season and sixth of his career.

 

Turek was one of three Huskers who set season or career bests in the 34-point victory, as Corey Simms (10 points for season high) and Tony Wilbrand (8 points for career high) also saw significant time. In all, nine of the 10 Huskers who dressed broke into the scoring column, as the 91-point performance was NU’s best total since scoring 95 against KansasState and the highest in regulation since a 97-point effort in the season opener.

 

Joe McCray was the third NU player in double figures, as he finished with 16 points, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. McCray dished out a season-high five assists without a turnover , helping Nebraska (10-8) shoot a season-best 56 percent from the field.

 

NU out-rebounded the Wolverines, 42-19, and hit a season-best 91 percent from the charity stripe, converting 20-of-22 free throws.

 

The Huskers, who never trailed, put the game out of reach with a 20-0 run, spanning the final three minutes of the first half and the first three minutes of the second half. It turned a 32-24 lead into a commanding 28-point cushion. Turek and Marcus Neal had five points apiece in the spurt as Neal beat the first half buzzer with a three-pointer to give Nebraska a 44-24 halftime lead.

 

Nebraska was never threatened in the second half, leading by as many as 36 points before settling for the 34-point victory.

 

Utah ValleyState, which dropped to 10-10 on the year, was paced by Ronnie Price, who scored a game-high 26 points to lead three players in double figures. David Heck and Benjamin Devoe also chipped in 10 points each as UVSU shot 40 percent in the losing effort.

 

The Huskers will host Kansas Saturday, Jan. 5, at a soldout DevaneyCenter. Tipoff for the ESPN telecast is set for 11 a.m. (central).

Utah Valley State vs Nebraska (2/1/05 at Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Center))

• Box Score

Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Utah Valley State vs Nebraska 2/1/05 7:05 p.m. at Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Center) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Utah Valley State (10-10) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 25 Heck, David......... f 3-7 3-5 1-2 2 2 4 3 10 2 2 0 1 24 42 Devoe, Benjamin..... c 5-6 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 5 10 0 1 3 1 22 10 Allison, Sylvester.. g 0-4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 20 24 Price, Ronnie....... g 8-18 4-10 6-9 1 2 3 0 26 1 4 1 1 40 32 Thomas, Pierre...... g 1-6 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 1 2 0 2 0 0 31 04 Cottle, Josh........ 1-1 1-1 2-2 0 1 1 1 5 3 1 0 0 23 05 Peterson, Matt...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 12 Troyer, Richard..... 1-5 1-2 0-1 0 2 2 2 3 0 1 0 1 17 35 Rinehart, Paul...... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 14 40 Ekweozor, Chike..... 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 1 0 2 TEAM................ 1 1 2 Totals.............. 19-47 9-19 10-17 8 11 19 21 57 9 12 6 5 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-26 30.8% 2nd Half: 11-21 52.4% Game: 40.4% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-12 33.3% 2nd Half: 5-7 71.4% Game: 47.4% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 6-11 54.5% Game: 58.8% 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska (10-8) (3-4) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 11 Wilkinson, Wes...... f 2-5 1-2 4-4 3 0 3 2 9 0 1 0 0 19 44 Turek, John......... f 10-14 0-0 4-5 3 10 13 1 24 0 0 1 0 26 02 McCray, Joe......... g 5-7 3-5 3-3 1 2 3 2 16 5 0 0 0 24 10 Neal, Marcus........ g 2-3 1-2 4-4 0 2 2 1 9 3 0 0 0 24 12 Muhleisen, Jake..... g 2-5 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 4 4 1 3 0 2 19 01 Dourisseau, Jason... 3-6 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 1 6 2 1 0 1 22 03 Richardson, Charles. 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 21 15 Schliep, Bronsen.... 2-5 0-2 1-2 2 1 3 0 5 1 1 0 0 12 21 Simms, Corey........ 3-5 0-0 4-4 4 0 4 3 10 0 1 1 1 20 45 Wilbrand, Tony...... 4-5 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 3 8 1 2 0 0 13 TEAM................ 1 1 2 Totals.............. 33-59 5-15 20-22 17 25 42 18 91 15 10 2 4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-25 60.0% 2nd Half: 18-34 52.9% Game: 55.9% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-5 20.0% 2nd Half: 4-10 40.0% Game: 33.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 13-14 92.9% 2nd Half: 7-8 87.5% Game: 90.9% 0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Mark Whitehead, Eddie Jackson, Jeff Malham Technical fouls: Utah Valley State-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: 6097 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Utah Valley State............. 24 33 - 57 Nebraska...................... 44 47 - 91

Points in the paint-UVSC 18,NU 54. Points off turnovers-UVSC 6,NU 17. 2nd chance points-UVSC 6,NU 16. Fast break points-UVSC 2,NU 2. Bench points-UVSC 9,NU 29. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-1 time. Last FG-UVSC 2nd-00:43, NU 2nd-02:03.