Huskers Fall in First Road Game

Omaha ? Nebraska's 13-0 run midway through the second half was not enough to overcome a slow start as the Huskers dropped a 70-44 contest to Creighton in front of a Qwest Center crowd of 15,621, the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game in the state of Nebraska.

 

NU’s loss in its first road game of the season dropped the Huskers’ record to 6-2, while Creighton improved to 4-2.

 

Nebraska hit just 4-of-26 shots in the first half and committed 17 turnovers that contributed to the Huskers trailing 31-11 at the half. Despite the poor start, NU was still in the game until Creighton closed the half on an 11-0 run. While Nebraska shot just 15 percent from the field in the first half, the Huskers’ defense limited the Bluejays to just 28 percent shooting.

 

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson nearly tallied his third consecutive double-double, finishing with six points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while sophomore Joe McCray added eight points and nine rebounds. Senior Jason Dourisseau, an Omaha native, pulled down 11 rebounds, just one shy of his career high.

 

Nebraska shot a season-low 27 percent for the game (17-of-62) and committed a season-high 31 turnovers. NU was also just 2-of-7 from the free-throw line, setting a season-low in free throw percentage (.286), as well as free throws made and attempted. The Huskers were averaging 28 free throws per game entering the contest.

 

NU's defense held Creighton to just 29.7 percent shooting and set a season-high with 11 blocks. Johnny Mathies led Creighton with a career-high 29 points.

 

The defenses dominated the game early, as Wilkinson drained a 3-pointer with 16:11 on the clock to give the Huskers a 3-2 lead. Wilkinson’s trey marked the first made field goal of the game by either team, as both of Creighton’s points came at the charity stripe.

 

Nebraska’s defense forced the Bluejays to miss their first seven field goal attempts before Mathies connected on a 3-pointer more than four minutes into the game.

 

A Husker trey from freshman guard Marcus Walker cut the Creighton lead to 10-8 before CU’s Nick Porter connected on the game’s first two-point field goal with 11:44 remaining in the first half to push the Bluejays’ lead to four at the second media timeout.

 

Creighton used three separate 6-0 runs in the first half to take a nine-point lead at 20-11 before the Bluejays closed the half on their 11-0 spurt. Wilkinson was a bright spot for Nebraska in the first half, scoring all six of his points in the opening 20 minutes and pulling down 10 rebounds.

 

The Huskers closed the gap to 16 early in the second period before Creighton used a 9-0 run to take a 42-17 lead with 13:12 remaining. During that stretch, the Bluejays held Nebraska without a field goal for 4:38. Junior forward B.J. Walker ended that drought with a bucket that made the score 42-19. Walker’s basket ignited the 13-0 Husker run over a 2:12 stretch. NU made 5-of-6 shots during the run that cut Creighton’s 27-point lead down to 14.

 

Nebraska would get as close as 13 before Creighton pulled away for the victory.

 

The Huskers return to action on Saturday when they look to rebound against ChicagoState at 7 p.m. at the BobDevaneySportsCenter.