Huskers Hold On to Bounce Beavers

Lincoln -- Senior guard Ryan Anderson posted his third career double-double and sealed a defensive battle with a rebound and then two free throws in the final five seconds as Nebraska held on for a 50-44 victory over Oregon State at the Devaney Center on Saturday.

Anderson finished with 16 points to pace the Huskers (7-2) and tie for game-high honors as he hit 6-of-13 attempts from the field. The rest of the team was 13-of-39 against the difficult Oregon State (4-4) zone defenses as the Huskers shot a season-low 36.5 percent from the floor.

The Seattle native also added a career-best 14 rebounds, bettering his previous mark of 11 set on two occasions. It was the third time he posted a double-double, but the first since his sophomore year in 2008. That season was also the last time the Huskers had a player with a traditional double-double (points and rebounds), as they did not have one at all last season.

Neither team was able to get into an offensive groove as the defenses, which rank among the best in the nation, were on display from the start. Nebraska got the better hand in the end as it turned the ball over just 11 times -- after averaging 18.5 turnovers over the past two games -- and held OSU to just 10 offensive rebounds. The Huskers also forced 16 turnovers and held even on the boards with a 34-34 tie.

The back-and-forth battle began right off the first possession as Nebraska turned it over only to see OSU get a quick offensive rebound of a miss and a jumper for a quick 2-0 lead. From there, the teams played within three points of each other until jumpers by Brandon Richardson and Ray Gallegos pushed NU ahead by five, 16-11, with 9:09 to play before intermission.

Each time the Beavers cut the lead back to one, the Huskers answered. The ability to counter each OSU surge helped Nebraska take a 24-19 lead into the locker room. The Cornhuskers' solid effort on the defensive end held OSU to just one field goal over the final 5:06 of the first half.

In the second half, Nebraska continued to struggle from outside against the Beavers' tall zone while OSU started to get some production in the lane. Roeland Scahftenaar came off the bench to hit 8-of-12 shots for 16 points to lead Oregon State, with all of his points coming in the paint.

Following a Seth Tarver jumper to open the period that cut the NU lead to three, the Huskers jumped ahead with back-to-back layups by Anderson and junior Lance Jeter to move out to a seven-point lead and kept the Beavers at bay nearly the rest of the night.

Anderson and Jeter came up huge when the Huskers needed it most down the stretch.

After Nebraska missed its first 11 shots from 3-point range, Anderson finally connected on a trey with 12:57 remaining to give NU its biggest lead of the game to that point, 37-29. NU missed its next four shots from the field and did not score for more than four minutes until a Jeter basket at the 8:34 mark. He turned around on the next trip down the court and hit the Huskers' second trey of the night and Ray Gallegos added the final 3-pointer just over 50 seconds later to give the Huskers a 45-36 advantage with 6:53 to play.

Senior Sek Henry then hit the second of two free throws for a 10-point Husker lead before OSU's defensive pressure increased. Nebraska then missed out on scoring chances on its last six field-goal attempts of the game, hitting only four free throws down the stretch, but it was enough to hold off the Beavers. OSU had just one basket in the final four minutes. Anderson added a steal with just over two minutes to play and picked up his final rebound with three seconds remaining to set up the final points of the game at the charity stripe, where he made both.

Along with Anderson, Jeter finished with 11 points while Jorge Brian Diaz added six points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals in a strong performance. Seth Tarver added 12 points for the Beavers and hit his only 3-point attempt as OSU was 2-of-11 from long range.

Nebraska returns to the court on Dec. 19, when the Huskers play host to Jackson State at the Devaney Center. The game will be heard on the IMG Husker  Sports Radio Network and on the internet at Huskers.com.