Huskers Fall in First Round of Big 12 Championship

Oklahoma City --- Playing in the first game of the 2009 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, Nebraska shot just 31.5 percent from the floor while Baylor scorched the nets and dominated the glass while en route to a 65-49 victory on Wednesday at the Ford Center. It was the fourth time the Huskers fell while playing in the 8-9 game in the opening round of the league tournament.

The Cornhuskers, who dropped to 18-12 on the year after finishing 8-8 in the Big 12 Conference standings, will now wait till Sunday night to find out if they will get a chance to extend their season. The NIT selection show will be played at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The Huskers will be looking for their second straight postseason appearance and fourth trip to the postseason in the past six years.

Eighth-seeded Nebraska held even through the first period, heading into the locker room trailing by just three points but struggled throughout the rest of the game. The Huskers hit just 7-of-29 shots (24.1 percent) from the floor in the second half, including opening the frame knocking down just one of its first 10 attempts from the field.

Baylor started the half with a 7-0 run and did not allow a Husker field goal until Dagunduro put in a layup with 14:04 to play. The Bears were up 48-37 after Sek Henry’s layup with 6:45 left to play before breaking the game open down the stretch. BU had a 10-0 run over two minutes to open up a 21-point lead.

Up to that point, guard Ade Dagunduro nearly held the Huskers within reach by himself. The senior from Inglewood, Calif., had nine points in the second half and finished the game with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting with a team-high six rebounds. The Huskers were outrebounded 43-18, with BU senior forward Kevin Rogers personally pulling down 20 rebounds to go with his 10 points.

Nebraska hit just 2-of-18 from 3-point range in the second half. While the Huskers were struggling, the Bears could hardly do wrong as they hit 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the field in the second period and knocked down 53.5 percent for the game. Curtis Jerrells led the way with 10 points while LaceDarius Dunn added 18.

Nebraska started out sluggish with the early tipoff time (11:30 a.m.), hitting just one of its first five shots from the floor, quickly falling behind 8-2 before Ade Dagunduro hit the Huskers’ second field goal of the game with 14:32 remaining in the half.

Early on, the Bears utilized their distinct size advantage in the middle, going inside the paint to 7-footer Josh Lomers. The big man scored the Bears first three baskets and posted eight points in the opening period.

Baylor seemed to be firing on all cylinders early and then used a 12-2 run as Nebraska went  nearly five minutes with only one field goal. BU capitalized on the Husker scoring drought, extending the lead to 10 points, 28-18, on LaceDarius Dunn’s second 3-pointer in less than a minute.

The two quick 3s forced a Nebraska timeout and the Huskers responded over the final three minutes of the period.

Dagunduro and Ryan Anderson played the primary roles in the late surge. Dagunduro started the spurt, getting deep in the paint before kicking out to Anderson at the top of the key, where he drained a 3 as the shot clock expired. NU got a stop on the other end and Anderson returned the favor, as Dagunduro made a beaautiful cut through the lane and Anderson found him for an easy layup.

Dagunduro continued his strong push, getting an offensive board off his own miss and putting it back to cut the lead to 28-25 with 1:35 remaining. The Huskers forced a quick turnover and Dagunduro’s jumper completed the 9-0 run in less than two minutes.

Jerrells uncontested drive through the with 55 seconds left was the final points of the half as Baylor went into the locker room up by three points, 30-27.