Huskers Drop Defensive Struggle at KSU

Manhattan, Kan. --- Kansas State held Nebraska to 36.7 percent from the field and NU's hot shooting from long distance cooled off as the Wildcats picked up a 61-45 victory Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum.

Nebraska hit just 30.4 percent in the first half while recording a season-low point total for any period. The Huskers' defensive effort was solid as they held KSU to just 14-of-43 shooting for 32.6 percent.

The Huskers came out strong and continued their solid 3-point shooting in the early going. Marcus Perry and Ryan Anderson knocked down treys and Charles Richardson Jr. hit a long basket to help Nebraska run to a quick 8-3 lead.

After being limited to one basket in more than six minutes to open the game, the Wildcats quickly rallied to pull within two, 10-8, on Blake Young's 3-pointer with 12:53 to play before Perry answered for the Huskers. NU's top long-range threat this year, Perry knocked down his second trey in the opening minutes to extend Nebraska's lead to 13-8 with just over 12 minutes left before intermission.

The lead would last a few more minutes until Kansas State pulled even with 8:12 to play following a pair of Cartier Martin free throws off an indirect technical. Martin scored six straight for the Wildcats before Clent Stewart hit the second of two free throws to give KSU a 15-14 lead at the 7:53 mark.

Both the Huskers and Wildcats then turned up the defensive pressure the rest of the half. KSU went nearly six more minutes without a basket until Lance Harris' putback off his own miss gave the Wildcats a 17-14 lead with 3:39 to play. Harris added a free throw for a three-point play and the Huskers went another minute before getting back on the board. NU's scoring drought lasted 7:40 until Jamel White hit a free throw at the 3:13 mark and Richardson's basket with 1:27 remaining the period was the Huskers' first since Perry hit his second trey, a stretch of 10:40.

By the time the Huskers got back on the board, Lance Harris heated up from long range as he hit a pair of long shots to push the Wildcats to a 24-16 lead. Harris' baskets gave KSU three buckets in the final 9:20 of the first half.   

Nebraska got back in the game quickly in the second half behind an 8-2 run keyed by three baskets from Aleks Maric. The junior center was held scoreless in the first period as he missed all four of his shots, but came up strong in the opening three minutes of the second period before picking up his third foul. Maric, the league leader in field-goal percentage, finished the game hitting 4-of-12 shots and finishing with 10 points, while grabbing nine rebounds.

With a 29-28 lead, Kansas State's Blake Young and Clent Stewart added 3-pointers and pushed the lead to 35-30 before Sek Henry made a tough driving layup on the baseline to pull NU back within three. Akeem Wright then put Kansas State ahead by five with a pair of free throws and Jermaine Maybank's 3-pointer a minute later made it an eight-point KSU lead.

Richardson trimmed the lead back to five at 40-35 with a wide-open 3-pointer with 9:08 to play. The 3-pointer was the first for Nebraska -- which entered the game ranked in the top 25 nationally in 3-point percentage -- in nearly 23 minutes off the clock.The Huskers finished just 4-of-20 beyond the arc (20 percent).

Cartier Martin added a pair of free throws with 2:24 remaining and Clent Stewart's free throw at the 1:37 mark gave KSU its then-largest lead of the game at 12 points, 49-37. Stewart finished with a game-high 14 points while hitting 4-of-9from the floor, including three3-pointers in only five attempts.   

Nebraska makes a quick turnaround as it gets back into action in two days when it plays host to eighth-ranked Kansas at the Devaney Center. The Huskers and Jayhawks will tip off at 8 p.m. in a game seen nationally on ESPN as part of Big Monday.

Tickets are still available at Huskers.com and at the NU Athletic Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-8BIGRED. The Athletic Department is also encouraging fans to wear red as part of a 'Red Out' as the Huskers participate in their third national telecast this year.