Nebraska Comeback Falls Short Against Tigers

Kansas City --- A furious second-half rally by <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska fell just short as eighth-seeded Missouri defeated No. 9-seed Nebraska 70-67 in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Thursday. The Huskers trailed by as many as 16 points early in the second half, but the final outcome was not decided until a Joe McCray three-point attempt rattled out with three seconds remaining.

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The loss dropped Nebraska to 14-14 on the season. The Huskers now await a Sunday announcement on whether they will be invited to the National Invitation Tournament.

 

Nebraska trailed 32-25 at intermission, but saw Missouri take control of the contest by scoring the first eight points of the second half to open a 40-25 advantage. The Tigers’ Linas Kleiza scored the first six points in that surge, part of his game-high 26 points, along with 11 rebounds.

 

Mizzou twice extended the lead to 16 points, the last time at 46-30 with 15:39 remaining. Nebraska slowly chipped away and got the lead into single digits at 51-42 with 11:33 remaining. The Huskers pulled within four at 55-51 with 8:52 to play after a Jake Muhleisen steal and two subsequent free throws. The lead fluctuated between four and seven for the next seven minutes.

 

McCray cut the Tiger advantage to four points at 69-65 with a three-pointer with 1:43 to play. After a Nebraska steal, Muhleisen had a rebound and put-back at the one-minute mark to slice the lead to 69-67. Junior forward Bronson Schliep then made a steal with 28 seconds left to give Nebraska a chance for victory.

 

Jason Dourisseau missed a driving shot with 10 seconds to play, and Kleiza was fouled and converted on one-of-two free throws to give MU the three-point edge. After taking the ball the length of the court following the in-bound pass, Nebraska freed McCray for an open three-pointer from the top of the key, but the attempt went in and out and sealed Nebraska’s fate. The loss marked the sixth consecutive year the Huskers have lost in the opening round of the league tournament.  

 

McCray led Nebraska with 20 points, the 17th time in 28 games this season the freshman has the led Huskers in scoring. McCray knocked down three three-pointers in the contest, raising his season total to 80, the second-best season total in school history and a Big 12 freshman record.

 

Junior Jason Dourisseau also produced a solid contest, chipping in 18 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes, while Charles Richardson Jr., had eight points and five assists against just one turnover.

 

 

Missouri led for nearly the entire first half. Nebraska’s last lead of the first half was at 5-2 on a McCray three-pointer. Missouri tied the game at 5-5 shortly after, then led for the remainder of the first half. Missouri’s biggest first half lead was eight points on two occasions, the last at 21-13. Nebraska pulled within two points at 25-23 on a McCray basket, but Mizzou finished the first half on a 7-2 run to open a 32-25 halftime edge.

 

Both teams struggled offensively before intermission, as the Huskers hit just 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the floor, while Missouri connected on just 11-of-28 shots. Turnovers also plagued the Cornhuskers, who had 10 miscues before halftime. The Huskers did not commit a turnover in the second half.

 

 

Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Missouri 03/10/05 11:30 a.m. at Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Mo.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 14-14, 7-9 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 44 Turek, John......... f 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 7 8 3 4 1 2 1 0 22 31 Maric, Aleks........ c 3-6 0-0 1-2 4 2 6 5 7 0 1 1 0 26 01 Dourisseau, Jason... g 5-12 0-1 8-13 4 3 7 2 18 1 1 0 2 33 02 McCray, Joe......... g 7-20 3-10 3-3 1 8 9 3 20 0 5 1 1 35 03 Richardson, Charles. g 2-3 2-2 2-2 0 1 1 4 8 5 1 0 1 30 10 Neal, Marcus........ 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 11 Wilkinson, Wes...... 2-7 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 1 0 17 12 Muhleisen, Jake..... 1-3 0-1 2-2 2 2 4 0 4 3 0 1 2 22 15 Schliep, Bronsen.... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 8 21 Simms, Corey........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 TEAM................ Totals.............. 22-58 6-18 17-24 12 23 35 22 67 10 10 5 7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-28 35.7% 2nd Half: 12-30 40.0% Game: 37.9% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 3-10 30.0% Game: 33.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100 % 2nd Half: 15-22 68.2% Game: 70.8% 3,2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Missouri 16-15, 7-9 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 41 Kleiza, Linas....... f 7-15 1-4 11-12 2 9 11 1 26 0 3 1 2 34 14 Young, Kevin........ c 1-3 0-0 5-8 4 4 8 3 7 0 1 0 0 29 01 McKinney, Jimmy..... g 2-6 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 4 4 2 2 0 1 33 02 Conley, Jason....... g 4-12 0-3 0-3 4 7 11 3 8 2 1 0 3 24 03 Gardner, Thomas..... g 4-12 1-6 4-4 1 0 1 3 13 4 4 0 1 34 12 Horton, Jason....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 2 3 0 0 23 15 Brown, Marshall..... 2-3 1-2 1-2 0 2 2 4 6 0 0 0 0 15 25 Dandridge, Glen..... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 5 44 Grimes, Kalen....... 1-1 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 TEAM................ 1 1 Totals.............. 22-53 4-18 22-31 12 27 39 20 70 10 14 2 7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-28 39.3% 2nd Half: 11-25 44.0% Game: 41.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 2-10 20.0% Game: 22.2% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-12 66.7% 2nd Half: 14-19 73.7% Game: 71.0% 3,1

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Steve Olson, Tom Eades, Eddie Jackson Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Missouri-None. Attendance: 18268 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Nebraska...................... 25 42 - 67 Missouri...................... 32 38 - 70 Estimated attendance (13,200)

Points in the paint-NU 22,MU 34. Points off turnovers-NU 18,MU 7. 2nd chance points-NU 17,MU 19. Fast break points-NU 9,MU 10. Bench points-NU 10,MU 12. Score tied-4 times. Lead changed-1 time. Last FG-NU 2nd-01:00, MU 2nd-02:42.