Huskers Fly Past No. 16 Ducks

Omaha ? In one of the most exciting games of the coach Doc Sadler era, the Husker men’s basketball team upset No. 16 Oregon, 88-79, in an overtime thriller in front of 12,109 fans at Qwest Center Omaha Saturday afternoon.

 

Nebraska (8-2) played its most well-rounded and inspired game of the year against the Ducks (8-2), a 2007 Elite Eight qualifier who came to Omaha with only one loss on the year. By the end of the afternoon, the Husker effort resulted in a student section court-storming and Sadler’s second win over a top-20 team during his Husker career. It also marked the first time Nebraska had defeated a ranked non-conference opponent outside of Lincoln in school history.

 

After giving up a three-point lead in the final seconds of regulation, Nebraska showed no signs of letdown in the extra session, as sophomore guard Ryan Anderson scored seven of his season-high 21 points in overtime to lead the Huskers to the victory.

 

Anderson nailed his third three-pointer of the day on NU’s first overtime possession, giving the Huskers a 77-74 lead with 4:09 remaining. The Huskers held the Ducks without a field goal for over four minutes in overtime, building an 83-77 lead.

 

Clinging to a two-point lead with two and a half minutes remaining in overtime, junior Steve Harley and sophomore Jay-R Strowbridge connected on clutch jumpers sandwiched around two Duck free-throws to maintain a four-point NU lead. Aleks Maric then gave the Huskers all the lead they needed with a putback with 42 seconds remaining to give the Huskers an 83-77 lead.

 

Maric led four Huskers in double figures with 23 points and seven rebounds, as he connected on 9-for-14 shots from the floor. Anderson connected on five of his nine shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, while going a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds.

 

Nebraska outscored Oregon, 14-5, in overtime, but it was a superb first-half effort that put NU in position to upset the 16th-ranked Ducks.

 

Despite a high-powered Oregon offense that produces the nation’s third-best scoring average (89.7 ppg), a stifling Nebraska defense held the Ducks scoreless on their first five possessions of the game to take a quick 9-0 lead. Junior Ade Dagunduro got the Big Red started with a baseline jumper to give the Huskers a 2-0 lead, followed by seven-straight points from Anderson. Together, Dagunduro and Anderson combined for Nebraska’s first 11 points.

 

Oregon halted the Husker ran after the first media timeout with four three-pointers over the next four minutes, including a pair from point guard Tajuan Porter, who finished the game with 29 points, including 7-of-15 from behind the arc. Porter was Oregon’s savior in regulation, as he made a desperation trey with nine seconds left to force overtime. The 5-6 guard was fouled on the play, but missed the ensuing free throw that would have given the Ducks a one-point lead in the closing seconds.

 

The Ducks used long-range shooting from Porter and Malik Hairston to give Oregon a 14-13 lead with 12:40 remaining in the half. Oregon hit 14-of-27 from long range in regulation, but missed all four attempts in overtime.

 

The first half saw a total of 10 lead changes and five ties. The Huskers used a strong effort from their bench to keep a slim advantage, as junior Paul Velander drilled a three-pointer at 10:21 to give Nebraska an 18-17 lead. By the end of the game, the Husker non-starters outscored the Ducks’ bench, 27-9, as Jay-R Strowbridge paced NU with 10 points off the bench.

 

Maric then took over late in the first half, as he contributed a critical takeaway off an inbounds pass that resulted in a slam dunk and a 27-24 lead with 5:17 remaining. The Aussie followed with a blocked shot on the defensive end and added another lay-up before Anderson scored five of the Huskers’ points in a 9-2 run over the last one minute, 45 seconds to take a 38-34 lead into the locker room.

 

With momentum on its side, Nebraska exploded at the beginning of the second half for a 6-0 run in the first two minutes. After 10 first-half turnovers, Oregon turned it over on three-straight possessions to begin the second half, leaving an open door that the Huskers took advantage of.

 

Nebraska extended its lead to 44-34 on a layup from freshman point guard Cookie Miller and eventually pushed the advantage to 13 points, at 52-39 following a 3-pointer by Velander with 16:15 remaining.

 

Oregon would hold the Husker offense scoreless over the next 3:48, chipping away at the lead to eventually tie the game at 62-62 with 6:51 left on Porter’s 3-pointer. The 5-6 guard’s hot-shooting didn’t slow Maric, who tipped in a missed Strowbridge runner to regain Nebraska’s lead (64-62) just 37 seconds later.

 

Strowbridge would find the net on the next possession with a three-pointer from the right wing, before junior Ade Dagunduro penetrated and found an open Maric for a dunk with 4:16 remaining to give Nebraska a 69-64 lead. Dagunduro finished the game with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting before fouling out of the game with 2:02 remaining.

 

Holding onto a 72-71 lead with under 30 seconds left, Strowbridge found an open Maric, who was fouled and hit two free-throws to give Nebraska a three-point lead. The Huskers looked to be in position to capture the win, before Porter’s seventh three-pointer of the game sent the game into overtime with nine seconds remaining. NU had one final opportunity to win the game in regulation, but Steve Harley’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

 

The Huskers will be back in action next Saturday, Dec. 22, when it returns to Lincoln for a 7 p.m., match-up with North Carolina Central.