Hot Shooting Huskers Win by 28

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lincoln ? The 1,404-mile trip from Miami to Lincoln did nothing to cool the hot hand of Marcus Perry, as the senior scored 17 points in 16 minutes to pace a season-high five Huskers in double figures in Nebraska’s 81-53 victory over SavannahState on Wednesday at the Devaney Center.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Perry, fresh off a career-high 25-point effort against the Hurricanes last Saturday, connected on 6-of-8 shots, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. A native of Anniston, Ala., Perry has poured in 42 points off the bench in his last two games after scoring 42 points in his first seven games combined.

 

Junior center Aleks Maric had another efficient night, scoring 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while freshman Sek Henry added 18 and sophomore Jamel White scored 14. Sophomore Paul Velander rounded out the Huskers’ double-figure scorers with 10, while also pulling down a career-high seven rebounds, two more than his previous career total through 10 games.

 

Led by the balanced attack, Nebraska, playing just its second home game since November 29, won its third straight game and improved to 10-3. SavannahState (6-13) dropped its third straight game and 13th in its last 14 contests.

 

The Huskers put together a stellar shooting performance, hitting 61.2 percent (30-of-49) for the game, the second-highest total of the season and best since Dec. 2.

 

Even with Nebraska’s hot shooting, SavannahState was the aggressor early on, hitting three of its first four shots en route to opening up a 10-4 lead nearly four minutes into the game. After hitting three shots in the first 3:13 of the half, the Tigers managed just three more field goals over the final 16:47 of the opening period.

 

Despite the offensive struggles, SavannahState held the lead until a basket from Maric gave Nebraska a 15-14 advantage with 9:39 remaining in the first half. Maric’s bucket came during a 12-0 Husker run that turned a one-point deficit into a 25-14 lead at the 5:20 mark.

 

Perry had a pair of 3-pointers during the run as he finished the first half with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a 3-of-4 effort from behind the arc.

 

Nebraska outscored SavannahState 23-5 over the final 10:08 of the half to give the Huskers their 17-point halftime advantage. Defense led the way, as NU held the Tigers to just one field goal in the final 10:32 of the first half.

 

While defense was the key, the Huskers managed some spectacular plays on the offensive end, including a no-look pass from White that led to a Maric Dunk and a Henry baseline drive to the basket that resulted in an acrobatic reverse layup.

 

Savannah State hit just 6-of-19 shots in the opening period, while Nebraska managed 55.6 percent shooting, connecting on 15-of-27 attempts.

 

The Huskers continued their hot shooting in the second half, as NU hit nine of its first 12 field goals en route to knocking down 15-of-22 second-half shots for a blistering 68.2 percent effort.

 

Perry again had the hot hand in the second half, hitting his fourth and fifth 3-pointers in consecutive possessions to give Nebraska a 50-29 lead.

 

Savannah State answered Perry’s shooting by ripping off an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 50-37 with 12:07 to play.

 

Freshman Jay-R Strowbridge stopped the run with a 3-pointer of his own and Maric added a pair of buckets to extend the lead back to 20.

 

Savannah State would get no closer the rest of the way. A 3-pointer by Henry gave Nebraska a 71-45 lead with less than five minutes to play. Henry added another three two minutes later to give him 18 points, two shy of his career high.

 

Nebraska’s reserves played well in the final minutes, adding to the lead to give the Huskers their largest margin of victory this season at 28 points.

 

The Huskers wrap up non-conference play this Saturday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m., when Nebraska plays host to Western Kentucky. Nebraska then opens Big 12 Conference play at IowaState on Wednesday, Jan. 10.

 

Official Basketball Box Score Official Basketball Box Score Savannah State vs Nebraska 1/3/07 7:05 p.m. at Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Center) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Savannah State (6-13) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 04 HARDY,Patrick....... f 2-4 2-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 6 1 2 0 0 19 10 OBIAJUNWA,Joshua.... f 4-8 0-1 5-5 0 4 4 3 13 3 1 0 1 32 24 LINTON,Chris........ f 1-6 1-2 1-2 2 3 5 2 4 0 3 0 2 27 14 COLEMAN,Lazarius.... c 2-4 1-1 0-0 0 2 2 5 5 0 0 0 1 28 03 FLEGLER,Joseph...... g 3-10 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 0 6 2 4 0 0 19 01 EDWARDS, Alvin...... 3-3 2-2 2-2 0 1 1 1 10 0 1 0 0 21 13 JONES,Derek......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 20 SHULER,Jovonni...... 2-3 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 1 6 1 1 0 2 20 23 BENNETT,Michael..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 42 STOWERS,Devin....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 54 BOHLEY,Bjorn........ 0-3 0-0 3-6 1 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 16 55 MCKINNEY,Alfonce.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 9 TEAM................ 2 2 1 Totals.............. 17-43 6-11 13-17 4 16 20 16 53 7 14 0 7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-19 31.6% 2nd Half: 11-24 45.8% Game: 39.5% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 54.5% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 8-11 72.7% Game: 76.5% 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Nebraska (10-3) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 34 Ledsome, Jim........ f 1-1 0-0 0-0 3 0 3 2 2 0 1 2 0 17 21 Maric, Aleks........ c 6-10 0-1 2-3 1 4 5 3 14 2 4 1 1 21 01 Henry, Sek.......... g 7-7 2-2 2-2 0 2 2 2 18 5 0 1 1 33 03 Richardson, Charles. g 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 0 0 5 0 0 1 25 31 White, Jamel........ g 6-11 0-3 2-2 2 3 5 3 14 3 2 1 1 28 04 Perry, Marcus....... 6-8 5-7 0-0 0 0 0 0 17 1 1 1 2 16 05 Strowbridge, Jay-R.. 2-3 2-2 0-1 0 3 3 2 6 1 1 0 0 18 11 Krenk, Nick......... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 23 Smith, Mike......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9 25 Velander, Paul...... 2-6 2-6 4-4 0 7 7 4 10 1 1 0 0 24 32 Balham, Chris....... 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 TEAM................ 2 2 Totals.............. 30-49 11-23 10-14 6 24 30 16 81 20 10 6 6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-27 55.6% 2nd Half: 15-22 68.2% Game: 61.2% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 7-13 53.8% Game: 47.8% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 8-11 72.7% Game: 71.4% 1

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Rick Randall, Terry Davis, Gary Maxwell Technical fouls: Savannah State-None. Nebraska-None. Attendance: 8353 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Savannah State................ 19 34 - 53 Nebraska...................... 36 45 - 81 Actual Attendance: 6073

Points in the paint-SSUM 14,NU 26. Points off turnovers-SSUM 8,NU 18. 2nd chance points-SSUM 7,NU 10. Fast break points-SSUM 0,NU 2. Bench points-SSUM 19,NU 33. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-3 times. Last FG-SSUM 2nd-01:55, NU 2nd-02:05. Largest lead-SSUM by 6 1st-16:11, NU by 28 2nd-02:05.