Dagunduro Helps Huskers Down Hawks

Lincoln --- Senior guard Ade Dagunduro continued his torrid shooting to help Nebraska post season highs in points and field-goal percentage as the Huskers ran past Maryland Eastern Shore, 88-56, on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The 88 points were the most in a regulation game under Coach Doc Sadler, and equaled the high set against Oregon in overtime last year. The 61.1 percent shooting, which included an impressive 64.3 percent after the break, was a season high, bettering NU's previous high which came four games ago as the Huskers hit 60.9 percent against Alabama State.

To get to the season-high totals, Nebraska took care of the ball at a record pace. The Cornhuskers tied the school record with just three turnovers, matching the mark originally set in 2002 at Iowa State. NU had just one turnover at the break and notched two miscues in the second half.

The 6,146 in attendance nearly saw another record as Dagunduro came close to matching the same school mark for the second time in four games. The senior from Inglewood, Calif., hit his first eight shots from the floor before missing his last attempt on a layup off an inbounds pass. He finished the day 8-of-9 from the field, just missing the single-game school record he tied against UMBC by going 9-of-9. Over the past four games, Dagunduro has hit 26-of-32 for a scorching 81.3 percent field-goal accuracy.

Behind Dagunduro's 18 points, the Huskers blew past the Hawks, taking a 12-point halftime lead out to as many as 36 points in the final four minutes of the contest. Dagunduro was followed by Steve Harley, who had 12 points, including 10 in the first half, while 10 other Huskers scored in the contest.

Nebraska blew out of the gates in the second half, hitting nine of their first 10 shots from the field to open a 60-38 lead on Paul Velander's only 3-pointer of the game with 12:00 remaining in the contest. His basket was part of a 7-0 run that came just before the Huskers' biggest defensive stand of the night.

UMES' Michael Pitt hit a 3-pointer at the 8:29 mark to pull the Hawks to 68-45 before Nebraska reeled off 13 straight points to push out to an 81-45 lead on Toney McCray's breakaway dunk. McCray got free with the ball after collecting his career-high fourth steal of the game, one of 12 Husker thefts in the contest. Sadler cleared his bench just seconds later and the third team did a solid job, holding UMES to just two baskets in the final four minutes.

Nebraska limited the Hawks to 8-of-25 shooting (32.0 percent) in the second period. On the game, UMES hit just 41.3 percent while recording 16 turnovers against eight assists. Nebraska had 18 assists in the contest on 33 baskets.

Nebraska was efficient in the first half while running to a 40-28 advantage at the break. The Huskers hit 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field and used five offensive boards to help a 24-point surge in the paint. Nebraska finished the game with 11 offensive boards for the second straight game, just three off its season high set in the opener against San Jose State.

After a pair of missed shots to open the game, Dagunduro got the Huskers going, posting a pair of baskets in the first three minutes as the Huskers opened a 6-2 advantage. The Hawks, however, would not go away easily, as neither team led by more than four points until Brandon Richardson helped the Huskers to a quick 5-0 spurt.

Following a Chris Balham free throw, the redshirt freshman from Los Angeles, Calif., knocked in a pair of baskets in transition after steals on the opposite end. Richardson basket at the 9:05 mark that put NU ahead 18-15 came off a nifty Cookie Miller assist, one of seven Husker assists on 15 first-half baskets.

Nebraska extended the lead to 22-15 as Harley knocked down a pair of free throws and scored on a jumper before McCray added a free throw at the 7:20 mark. The 7-0 surge was the first of two strong stretches for the Husker offense, as NU finished the period on a 13-8 surge that included a spectacular Sek Henry dunk off another Miller pass.

Despite the Huskers' strong push, UMES was in the game as it hit better than 52 percent from the field in the opening half.

The Huskers end non-conference action on Monday, Jan. 5, when they take on Florida A&M at 7:05 p.m. Nebraska then opens Big 12 Conference play at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10, as the Cornhuskers take on Missouri at the Devaney Center. The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. but was moved up one hour to accomodate the ESPN2 telecast.