Huskers Falter in Second Half During Big 12 Opener

Ames, Iowa --- Iowa State used a 21-9 surge to open the second half and held the Huskers to just 37 percent shooting after the intermission to pull away in a 71-62 victory over Nebraska at Hilton Coliseum Wednesday.

In its Big 12 season opener, the Huskers -- who entered the week ranked eighth nationally in field-goal percentage by hitting 51.5 percent from the floor -- were held to 44.0 percent shooting on the game, their second-lowest mark of the season. After hitting 40.7 percent in the first half, Iowa State hit 52 percent after the break to take control of the contest.

The Cyclones, who improved to 11-5 on the year and remained undefeated in league play at 2-0, missed their first attempt after intermission, then connected on five straight shots during a 13-5 run, including nine points by Mike Taylor.

ISU's leading scorer this season, Taylor had three 3-pointers in the opening 4:13 of the second half to key the Cyclone comeback. All three of his shots came around Wesley Johnson jumpers, as the pair combined for 32 points in the game, including a game-high 22 by Taylor as he hit 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Johnson added a double-double with 11 rebounds, tying for team-high honors alongside Jiri Hubalek, who also had a double-double with 13 points. ISU held a 35-27 rebounding advantage over the Huskers, including a 7-1 advantage on the offensive glass in the first half.

After Iowa State pulled ahead by five, 40-35, on Taylor's third trey of the period, the Huskers climbed within one on a pair of Charles Richardson Jr. jumpers. The Huskers then missed four straight shots and ISU drained 3-of-5 attempts and two free throws while pulling down two offensive boards during an 8-0 run that put the Cyclones ahead 48-39 with 11:35 to play.

ISU extended the lead to 11 points on a Rahshon Clark conventional three-point play with 9:39 left before the Huskers made a charge. Nebraska held Iowa State to three field goals over the final 9:39 and finally cut the deficit to two points with 3:57 to play.

Jamel White started the 8-3 surge as he hit a 3-pointer before Ryan Anderson converted a pair of free throws for the injured Aleks Maric, who was fouled in the paint. Maric left for a minute but quickly returned and went to work, working the lane to get a good look for a basket and then adding a pair of free throws before Sek Henry's two charity shots pulled NU within 55-53.

Hubalek then converted on a three-point play and Dodie Dunson added a 3-pointer a minute later to push the ISU lead out to eight and Nebraska only closed the gap to within five once over the final two minutes, with that coming on a Richardson trey.

Maric led the Huskers with 20 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. He had 11 points and eight boards in the second period, including hitting 5-of-6 from the line. Richardson added 11 points, all in the second half, while White had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-5 from long range.

The Huskers, who fell to 11-4 on the year and 0-1 in league action while seeing their four-game winning streak snapped, return to the court for their home league opener on Saturday, Jan. 13, when they play host to nationally ranked Oklahoma State.