Huskers Lose Tight Contest at Kansas State

Manhattan, Kan. ? The Nebraska basketball team tried to battle back from an eight-point deficit midway through the second half but could not quite get over the hump as Kansas State hit its free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 77-72 victory over the Huskers at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday. It was the 11th time this season Nebraska played a game decided by six or fewer points, with the Huskers now holding a 5-6 record.

With the loss, the Huskers fell to 16-11 on the season and 6-8 in league play, falling for the fourth time in the last five games. The Wildcats improved to 20-9 on the year and 8-6 in league action while splitting the season series with the Huskers.

Neither team gained much traction as the score bounced back and forth all night with nine lead changes and 10 ties until KSU forged ahead for good in the final 10 minutes.

Nebraska led 50-49 with Paul Velander’s driving layup with 10:58 to play before the Wildcats made their move. KSU had three offensive rebounds on a single trip and after coming away without a point, still managed to turn the heat up to force a turnover and get a dunk that started a 9-0 run to give the Wildcats the lead for good.

After Velander’s basket, Kansas State forced the Huskers into turnovers on four straight possessions and had three offensive rebounds on their own end as KSU ran to a 58-50 advantage. The turnovers were part of 17 on the night for the Huskers, who were also outrebounded by a 36-25 advantage, including 21-11 on the offensive glass.

Ade Dagunduro, who had been in foul trouble nearly all night, stopped the run with a traditional three-point play, cutting the deficit to 58-53. Velander added another traditional three-point play and Dagunduro and Ryan Anderson added free throws to pull the Huskers within two, 60-58, with 5:43 remaining.

The Wildcats responded to push ahead by seven points on Jacob Pullen’s 3-pointer with 3:38 left but again the Huskers would not quit. Cookie Miller added four free throws and, following a Wildcat basket, Anderson drained a 3-pointer to get Nebraska back within two, 69-67.

The narrow margin was short-lived as KSU’s Daren Kent made a nice move in the paint and put a shot off the glass for a four-point cushion. Pullen then added a pair of charity shots as Kansas State went up by six points with 18 seconds to play. Miller hit his second 3-pointer of the night to make it a one possession game but Fred Brown connected on both of his free throws to put the contest out of reach just seconds later. Miller and Denis Clemente then traded free throws for the final points.

Anderson led the Huskers by tying his season high with 19 points, connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the floor with five boards. Dagunduro finished with 16 points and seven rebounds despite playing only 20 minutes before fouling out with 1:06 to play and Miller added 14 points with seven assists.

The Cornhuskers opened the game quickly, scoring in the first 11 seconds after the tip as Steve Harley made a layup driving from the wing.

After Harley got the Huskers’ first basket, Kansas State showed its grit on defense, effectively shutting Nebraska down for nearly seven minutes. KSU took an 11-4 lead on Brown’s basket with 14:48 to play and the Huskers did not score another bucket until Brandon Richardson’s 3-pointer at the 14:14 mark put the Husker offense back into gear.

Nebraska used a quick 7-0 run to tie the game at 11-all on Anderson’s driving layup with 12:36 until halftime. The Wildcats hit a 3-pointer and added a basket from Jamar Samuels to go ahead by five but from there the teams went back and forth the rest of the way. After Toney McCray’s basket cut the deficit to just three points, neither team led by more than four points the rest of the half.

The teams were tied four more times with the last coming with 4:05 to play after a pair of Pullen free throws. KSU went ahead 30-26 on Ron Anderson’s putback basket with 1:48 before halftime, but a late rally put the Huskers up at the break.

Miller striped Clemente as the Wildcat drove to the basket while KSU’s shot clock wore down. Miller then pushed the basketball, weaving through a number of Wildcats before hitting a pullup jumper from 12 feet cut the deficit to a single point.

After forcing a bad KSU shot and grabbing the rebound, the Huskers worked the clock for one last shot. The move proved productive as Miller worked into the lane and kicked out to Ryan Anderson, who drilled a deep 3-pointer to give the Huskers a 32-30 halftime lead.

Nebraska led at the break despite eight first-half turnovers, after having just five turnovers in the opening period of the last three games combined.

The Cornhuskers made up for the numerous miscues by hitting 49 percent from the field in the game, including hitting 12-of-24 from the floor and 13-of-15 at the charity stripe in the second half. It was their second-best shooting game on the road this season.

NU held Kansas State to 45 percent shooting, although KSU was extremely hot from the floor after the break, hitting 57.7 percent (15-of-26). Pullen hit just 4-of-12 from the floor but led KSU with 18 points while Clemente had 14 points and each had five assists.

The Huskers return to Lincoln for their final home game of the regular season on Wednesday, March 4, when Nebraska takes on Iowa State. The game will tip off at 6:35 p.m. and can be seen in the state of Nebraska on Fox Sports Midwest and around the country on ESPN FullCourt.

The contest will also be the final home game for the four Nebraska seniors, Ade Dagunduro, Steve Harley, Nick Krenk and Paul Velander. The Senior Night ceremony will take place at approximately 6:15 p.m.