Huskers Drop Road Contest Against Ducks

Portland, Ore. --- In a game full of momentum swings, Oregon had the final one as it used a 9-0 run in the last two minutes to break open a tight contest and earn a 68-56 victory over Nebraska Saturday at the Rose Garden.

With the loss, Nebraska fell to 5-2 on the season and dropped its second straight road contest after opening the year with five consecutive wins at the Devaney Center. Oregon extended its season-opening win streak to seven games as it got to the foul line frequently and limited its turnovers.

UO had just nine miscues in the game while forcing Nebraska into 18 turnovers. Nebraska's pressure defense held the Ducks to just 40.0 percent shooting from the floor, but the Huskers were called for 12 fouls in the second period, putting Oregon on the line 10 times where the Ducks converted nine. Nebraska did not go to the foul line in the second half as UO was only whistled twice, giving Oregon a 22-6 advantage in free throws attempted for the game.

The Huskers got off to a solid start behind the play of freshman Ryan Anderson, who scored nine points in the opening frame before finishing the contest with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Aleks Maric added 12 points, including 10 in the second period, while sophomore guard Paul Velander came off the bench to hit 4-of-5 from 3-point range for a career-high 12 points.

Freshman Sek Henry dropped in the first basket of the game before Anderson followed with a pair of baskets to open a quick 6-3 lead. Maric then posted a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 8-3 but that would be his only points of the half.

The Husker big man was called for a pair of fouls in the first 6:07 of the period, limiting him to just five minutes of playing time before intermission. Jim Ledsome, playing in place of Maric, added two baskets in the first half, including a putback dunk and a 2-on-1 fast break dunk off a nice feed from Henry.

With Maric out, the Huskers' were forced to rely more heavily on their perimeter game. Velander, who is returning from a shoulder injury, came off the bench and quickly made his presence felt. He forced a turnover on his first possession in the game and then added a 3-pointer on the Huskers' ensuing trip down court. Velander also drew a charge and then knocked down another shot from beyond the arc to finish the first half with six points, helping NU stay within four points, 31-27, at the intermission.

Despite Maric's return to the court, Nebraska struggled early in the second period as Oregon extended the lead to 10 points less than three minutes into the half. UO's streak was the start of a pair of long runs -- one by each team -- as neither was able to gain complete command of momentum until the final minute.  

Aaron Brooks started the Oregon streak as he scored on a jumper before a pair of Malik Hairston dunks and a Bryce Taylor fast break dunk pushed the Ducks ahead 39-29 at the 17:11 mark. Velander ended the UO run with his third 3-pointer of the game and added another one 90 seconds later to quickly cut the deficit back to four points, 39-35. Anderson then got hot from NBA range as he drilled a long 3-pointer to pull Nebraska back within one point with 13:09 remaining.

Brooks' layup eight seconds later helped take the air out of the Huskers' sails. Maric answered with his first basket of the game, but the Ducks reeled off nine straight and held Nebraska without a point for four minutes until Charles Richardson Jr.'s basket at the 8:29 mark. By that point UO already led 50-40 and Maarty Leunen answered with a 3-pointer to push the margin back to 11 points.

Leunen finished with 15 points, including hitting 3-of-4 from long range, while Taylor led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Brooks had 15 points and freshman Tajuan Porter, who came into the game averaging a team-best 21.8 points per game, was held to 10. Hairston added nine points as the starters scored 67 of the team's points with reserve Joevan Catron's free throw serving as the Ducks' only bench point.

After falling behind again by 11 with 7:00 to play, the Huskers began a final run.

NU kept chipping away and pulled within four, 57-53, on a Maric dunk with 3:30 left before Marcus Perry hit his only basket of the game. Perry drained a 3-pointer that chopped the margin to three points, 59-56, with just over two minutes remaining. Nebraska got off only one shot and had four turnovers in the final two minutes as Oregon scored the final nine points of the game.

Nebraska returns home for finals week and hits the court again on Sunday, Dec. 17, for the only home game during the month of December. The Huskers then hit the road for the longest trip of the season as they leave Dec. 18 for Hawaii, where they will play in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic on Dec. 20, 22 and 23. NU opens the tournament against Wyoming at 9 p.m. CST on Dec. 20.

 

Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Nebraska vs Oregon 12-09-06 12:04 p.m. at Rose Garden, Portland, Ore. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Nebraska 5-2 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 01 Henry, Sek.......... f 2-7 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 4 1 2 0 0 17 44 Anderson, Ryan...... f 6-12 3-7 0-0 1 2 3 5 15 0 5 1 0 32 21 Maric, Aleks........ c 5-8 0-0 2-2 3 3 6 3 12 0 3 1 0 24 03 Richardson, Charles. g 2-6 0-4 2-2 1 3 4 4 6 7 2 1 2 40 04 Perry, Marcus....... g 1-6 1-6 0-0 0 3 3 0 3 1 2 0 0 26 05 Strowbridge, Jay-R.. 0-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 3 1 0 1 17 12 Marks, Kyle......... 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 2 3 3 0 1 1 0 1 11 25 Velander, Paul...... 4-5 4-5 0-0 1 1 2 4 12 1 2 0 0 20 32 Balham, Chris....... 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 34 Ledsome, Jim........ 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 8 TEAM................ 2 3 5 Totals.............. 22-50 8-25 4-6 11 20 31 24 56 14 18 4 4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-22 45.5% 2nd Half: 12-28 42.9% Game: 44.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 5-14 35.7% Game: 32.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 66.7% 1

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Oregon 7-0 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 01 Hairston, Malik..... f 4-9 0-4 1-3 3 2 5 2 9 1 0 1 0 32 04 Taylor, Bryce....... f 6-10 3-6 3-3 2 1 3 2 18 3 0 0 2 31 10 Leunen, Maarty...... c 5-8 3-4 2-4 3 6 9 2 15 3 0 1 1 36 00 Brooks, Aaron....... g 4-11 0-5 7-8 2 2 4 0 15 8 3 0 1 36 12 Porter, Tajuan...... g 3-12 2-5 2-2 2 0 2 1 10 1 4 0 0 37 03 Platt, Mitch........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 21 Stelly, Adrian...... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 42 Zahn, Adam.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 45 Schafer, Ray........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 50 Catron, Joevan...... 0-3 0-1 1-2 2 3 5 2 1 1 0 0 0 14 TEAM................ 1 2 3 Totals.............. 22-55 8-26 16-22 17 18 35 11 68 17 9 3 4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-30 33.3% 2nd Half: 12-25 48.0% Game: 40.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-14 28.6% 2nd Half: 4-12 33.3% Game: 30.8% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-12 58.3% 2nd Half: 9-10 90.0% Game: 72.7% 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Tom Wood, Don McAllister, Ken Ditty Technical fouls: Nebraska-None. Oregon-None. Attendance: Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Nebraska...................... 27 29 - 56 Oregon........................ 31 37 - 68

Points in the paint-NU 22,OREM 25. Points off turnovers-NU 8,OREM 20. 2nd chance points-NU 9,OREM 11. Fast break points-NU 4,OREM 11. Bench points-NU 16,OREM 1. Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-1 time. Last FG-NU 2nd-02:11, OREM 2nd-00:44. Largest lead-NU by 7 1st-15:20, OREM by 12 2nd-00:17.