Huskers Run Past Rutgers

Lincoln ? Led by three players in double figures, the Nebraska men's basketball team used a 24-4 run before and after the halftime break to cruise past visiting Rutgers, 63-51, Sunday afternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

 

Aleks Maric led the Huskers with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Ryan Anderson tied his season high with 14 and Ade Dagunduro poured in 13. Behind those three, Nebraska won at home by at least 14 points for the sixth time in six home contests this season. The win also kept NU perfect at home this season, while improving the Huskers' overall record to 6-2.

 

Rutgers slipped to 6-3 on the season, despite a career-high 25 points from Corey Chandler.

 

After Rutgers shot the ball well early, the Nebraska defense harassed the Scarlet Knights for the rest of the game. NU limited Rutgers to 35.1 percent from the field, including just 24.1 percent in the first half.

 

Fueled by the stingy defense, the Huskers closed the first half on a 15-2 run and opened the second half on a 9-2 spurt. Before the first run, Nebraska trailed by two and by the end of the second run, the Huskers enjoyed a 17-point lead they would not relinquish.

 

Rutgers bombed away in the opening minutes, hitting three 3-pointers before the first media timeout. Chandler fueled the early barrage by burying back-to-back treys during an 8-0 run that put the Scarlet Knights in front 10-4.

 

While Rutgers was content to run its offense beyond the 3-point line, Nebraska went inside early and often. Maric and Dagunduro combined to score Nebraska’s first 13 points, with 12 of those points coming in the paint and the other at the free-throw line.

 

With Maric and Dagunduro providing the offense, the Husker defense held Rutgers scoreless for 5:02. That allowed the offense to go on a 7-0 run and tie the game at 15-all on a pair of Steve Harley free throws.

 

The Huskers then closed the first period on the 15-2 run to take a 32-21 lead into the locker room. After trailing 19-17 with 7:26 remaining, the defense held Rutgers to just one field goal the rest of the half, allowing NU to build its advantage.

 

Offensively, Maric fueled the run as he added a pair of dunks. As the Scarlet Knight defense began to collapse on Maric, he was able to twice kick the ball back out to a wide open Jay-R Strowbridge, who knocked down a pair of treys during the run.

 

NU continued to pour it on to start the second half, using a 9-2 run over the first six minutes to build a 17-point advantage.

 

Rutgers came back strong with a quick 7-0 run in the span of 1:23 to cut the deficit to seven. The Scarlet Knights drilled a pair of treys during the run and a pair of steals led to easy baskets.

 

The 7-0 spurt was part of a larger 11-2 run that saw the Huskers lead dwindle to 44-39 with just more than 10 minutes remaining. Chandler fueled the run with two steals and eight points.

 

That would prove to be as close as the Scarlet Knights could get, as Nebraska responded with a 12-0 run to build a 56-39 lead. Four different Huskers scored during the run, led by four points from Dagunduro.

 

The Huskers cruised from there, leading by at least 11 the rest of the way.

 

Nebraska quickly returns to action on Tuesday night, with a 7 p.m. contest against SavannahState at the DevaneyCenter.