Huskers Freeze Out Mastodons

Lincoln ? Senior center Aleks Maric rebounded from a subpar game this past weekend to hit 13-of-18 shots from the field for 30 points while leading Nebraska to a 79-62 victory over IPFW at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Maric's effort helped the Huskers connect on 56.1 percent from the floor, the third time this season NU topped the 50-percent plateau.

 

Maric, who added nine rebounds to just miss his second double-double of the year, led NU to its fourth win of the season and 12th straight home non-conference victory under second-year coach Doc Sadler. It was the fifth time Maric reached the 30-point mark in his career, moving him into third on the NU all-time list.

 

Sophomore Ryan Anderson and juniors Paul Velander and Ade Dagunduro added stellar offensive efforts to help the Huskers ward off a dangerous 3-point game from the Mastodons. Anderson posted 11 points, all in the first half, while Velander added a season best with nine points, including hitting 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Dagunduro warmed up as the game wore on, hitting 6-for-6 in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers for a season-high 15 points.

 

Meanwhile, IPFW hit nearly 50 percent from the 3-point line with 10 treys on the game, and added 23-of-48 field goals to make a run at the hot-hitting Huskers, who were 9-of-18 from downtown.

 

IPFW got on the board first, but was quickly shut down following a plague of sloppy play by the Mastodons that led Nebraska to an eight-point run, including four points from Maric. IPFW gave up four turnovers in four minutes to open the game and open the door for Nebraska to set the offensive pace from the outset.

 

Maric was hot from the field, hitting 6-of-7 shots from the floor for 14 first-half points. When Maric got some rest midway through the first half, Anderson saw his opportunity to shine and took charge for the Huskers, pumping in nine points in just over five minutes, including his sixth 3-pointer of the season.  

 

With Maric and Anderson leading the way, the Huskers heated up from the floor, putting down 63 percent from the field in the first half for 42 points. The Huskers wrapped up the half hot from 3-point range, including three consecutive treys from Dagunduro, Velander and sophomore Jay-R Strowbridge that rolled up a 13-2 run over IPFW.

 

While the Huskers were heating up, the Mastodons thawed on the offensive end of the court, hitting five 3-pointers for 28 points on the half. Fortunately, Nebraska was dominant on the boards, pulling down 16 defensive rebounds, including five from Maric, to just six from IPFW. Additionally, Nebraska didn’t give up a single offensive rebound to IPFW in the first half, while limiting the Mastodons to shooting just 38 percent from the field. The strong effort helped NU end the half ahead 42-28.

 

After a chilly first half from the 3-point line that saw the Mastodons make 5-of-13 treys, IPFW continued to insist on its outside game at the start of the second half and began seeing early returns. The Mastodons opened the half hitting 5-of-7 shots from the field including back-to-back-to-back buckets from behind the arc from seniors Demetrius Johnson and Armend Ademi, and freshman Ben Botts to pull within 10 points.  

 

The comeback was fleeting however as Maric continued to dominate the paint, knocking down 12 points in the opening six minutes of the second half to tie his season-high of 21. Maric continued to have the hot hand throughout the second half, finishing the game with 30 points, including 16 in the second period.  

 

As a team, Nebraska finished the game shooting 56 percent from the field, including knocking down 50 percent from 3-point range, while tearing down 33 rebounds and improving to 4-1 on the season.

 

Nebraska is back in the DevaneySportsCenter this Sunday, Dec. 2, as it takes on ArizonaState. The contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. tipoff and will be seen nationally on ESPNU.