Huskers Fall to Kansas

Lincoln?Aleks Maric recorded his third straight double-double, but Nebraska struggled to produce offensively as its three-game winning streak was snapped with a 69-48 loss to Kansas Wednesday night at the DevaneyCenter.

 

Maric, a 6-11 sophomore, led Nebraska’s offensive output with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end. He is averaging 13.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game over the Huskers’ last three contests.

 

Senior Jason Dourisseau fell just shy of his third double-double of the year and second straight by totaling 14 points and nine rebounds. Junior college transfer B.J. Walker broke out of a slump with nine points and three rebounds in just 13 minutes off the bench. He had previously scored eight points in the past seven games combined.

 

The Huskers, who were bidding for their best Big 12 start since the 1998-99 season, dipped to 15-7 overall and 5-4 in the league with the loss.

 

Mario Chalmers led Kansas (16-6, 7-2 Big 12) with a game-high 20 points. He recorded four 3-pointers in the second half, when he poured in 16 of his points.  Jeff Hawkins added 11 points off the bench for KU, which has won its last six contests and 13 of its last 15 games. The Jayhawks held Nebraska to 34.6 shooting from the floor and forced 19 Husker turnovers.

 

After falling behind early, the Huskers used a 6-2 spurt to tie the score at 8-all after a Maric free throw at the 13:29 mark of the first half. Although the Huskers never led in the opening 20 minutes, they hung around for most of the half, pulling to within 24-20 after a Maric dunk with 3:35 mark. Leading 25-21, KU stole the momentum late in the first period, closing with an 8-3 run to take a 32-24 lead into the locker room.

 

Nebraska came out quickly in the second half, pulling to within 32-26 after a Maric jumper 10 seconds in the frame. But Nebraska could not capitalize as a Brandon Rush basket and the first of Chalmers’ four trifectas of the second stanza pushed KU’s lead back into double figures.

 

The Huskers continued to rely on Maric, whose consecutive baskets pulled NU within 37-32 at the 14:39 mark, but NU could not get closer as Chalmers scored five straight to trigger a 10-3 run thast pushed the margin to 13 at the 11:51 mark. Dourisseau and Walker then sparked another spurt for a near capacity crowd, combining for all 10 points of a Husker spurt that cut the 13-point lead to 54-45 after a pair of Dourisseau free throws with just over eight mintues remaining. It would be NU’s last surge, as KU salted the contest away with a 15-0 run and led by as many as 24 points in the final minutes.

 

The Huskers look to rebound on Saturday afternoon, as they take on No. 6 Texas Saturday afternoon in a nationally televised contest. Tipoff between the Huskers and Longhorns is set for 3 p.m.