Dagunduro Leads Huskers Past Buffaloes

Lincoln ? Ade Dagunduro scored 18 points and made several key plays down the stretch to lead the Nebraska men’s basketball team past Colorado, 46-41, in a defensive battle Wednesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Nebraska shot just 34.8 percent from the field, but the Huskers’ defensive effort improved their overall record to 16-8, including a 6-5 record in Big 12 play. Colorado hit only 31.0 percent of its shots while slipping to 9-16 overall and 1-10 in the Big 12.

The Huskers may not have shot well, but they did an outstanding job taking care of the ball, finishing with just six turnovers. Nebraska did not commit a turnover in the first half and had just two over the final 13 minutes of the contest. The Huskers forced Colorado into 16 turnovers, which led to 17 NU points. Nebraska also tied a season high with six blocks in the contest.

Dagunduro led the offense by hitting 7-of-12 shots to score in double figures for the fifth time in his last six games. Dagunduro also paced NU with six rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes of action. Cookie Miller added eight points off the bench, while Ryan Anderson earned the start and scored six points while dishing out a game-high five assists.

Nebraska opened the game by scoring nine of the first 10 points. It took Colorado more than three minutes to score and the Buffaloes didn't hit their first field goal until the 12:57 mark. That basket was an Austin Dufault 3-pointer and since the Huskers hadn't hit a field goal themselves in nearly four minutes, Dufault's three trimmed NU's lead to 9-4.

Another Colorado 3-pointer two possessions later cut the lead to two before Brandon Richardson answered with a trey of his own. Miller then hit the Huskers' third 3-pointer of the half to put NU in front 17-9. Colorado answered with a 9-2 run that featured three straight 3-pointers to trim the lead to 19-18 with five minutes remaining in the half.

Dagunduro ended the run by hitting Nebraska's first field goal in nearly three minutes. The Huskers then scored the final four points of the half to take a 25-20 lead into the break. NU shot just 39.1 percent from the field in the first half, but the Huskers did not commit a single turnover. Colorado hit just 31.8 percent of its shots, but the Buffaloes were 5-of-10 from beyond the 3-point line.

Colorado hit another 3-pointer to open the second half, as the Buffaloes used a 6-2 run to pull within 27-26 four minutes into the period. Both teams then went cold from the field, as neither team scored again until Steve Harley made a layup to put NU back up by three with 12:15 left. Before Harley’s basket, Nebraska had opened the second half by hitting only 1-of-11 from the field while committing its first four turnovers of the game.

A pair of free throws pulled the Buffs back within one before Dagunduro stretched the lead to four with a three-point play. The slowing scored again until Miller drilled his second 3-pointer of the game to put NU on top 37-30. Richardson then knocked down a free throw to put the Huskers in front by eight with 6:18 remaining.

Colorado found itself within three at 41-38 with three minutes remaining following three straight baskets. Dagunduro came up with an answer again by converting another three-point play to stretch the lead back to six. Colorado then snapped a two-minute scoring drought when Dufault hit a pair of free throws to cut the Huskers’ lead to 44-40 with 1:26 left.

The Huskers turned the ball over before Dagunduro took a charge. By the time the Buffaloes got the ball back, they still trailed by four with just 25 seconds showing on the clock. Dufault earned another trip to the line with 11.4 seconds left, but hit just 1-of-2. Paul Velander then knocked down two free throws at the other end to seal the win.

Dufault scored nine points in the game, while Colorado was led by Higgins' 12 points.

Nebraska next travels to Lawrence, Kan., this Saturday for a 3 p.m. tipoff with the Kansas Jayhawks.