Second-Half Run Pushes Missouri Past Nebraska

Columbia, Mo. --- After the Cornhuskers fought to a one-point game with just under 11 minutes remaining in the contest, Missouri used a key 15-1 run to pull away for a 70-53 victory in front of a sellout crowd at Mizzou Arena on Saturday.

With the loss, the Huskers fell to 0-4 in the conference standings (12-7 overall), matching their longest conference-opening losing streak in the Big 12 era. The 2007-08 Huskers also opened league play 0-4 but rebounded to go 7-5 down the stretch, posting the third-best record in the league during that frame.

Missouri extended its homecourt winning streak to 31 straight games, the third-longest active streak in the nation. The Tigers improved to 15-4 on the season and 3-1 in league play.

Missouri was led by Miguel Paul's 15 points off the bench as he hit 5-of-6 shots from the field. Paul scored all 10 of his second-half points in the decisive run as Missouri won for the third straight time over the Huskers. A Zaire Taylor free throw started the run, and Paul had three of the next four field goals to pace the Tigers.

Senior Sek Henry led the offensive effort for the Huskers, who hit just 40.9 percent from the field. Henry opened the game with a trey and had all six of Nebraska's final points while finishing with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Sophomore Brandon Richardson added 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting and freshman Ray Gallegos had a strong second half, posting all eight of his points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the frame.

Missouri struggled from the field, hitting just 39.3 percent (22-of-56) including only 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from 3-point range. But the Tigers nailed 18-of-21 free throws, including making six in the final three minutes to put the game out of reach.

Nebraska trailed 28-26 at the intermission and saw the Tigers jump ahead 36-29 on Michael Dixon's 3-pointer. The Huskers then shut down MU, holding the Tigers without a field goal for nearly five minutes as Gallegos started to heat up.

The rookie from Utah had five quick points for the Huskers, pulling NU within two, 40-38, with just under 14 minutes remaining. Lance Jeter added a three-point play and Gallegos' second trey with 10:49 to play pulled the Huskers within one, 45-44. But that was as close as they'd get as MU's defense forced a combination of turnovers and bad shots over the final 10 minutes as the Huskers had just two field goals from that point forward.

Nebraska got the game off to a quick start as Henry drained a 3-pointer on his first attempt from the floor and Jeter added a running jumper for a 5-3 led with less than 90 seconds off the clock. But the Huskers then began misfiring from the floor as Missouri exploited the missed shots and three early NU turnovers to run off a 9-0 streak to go ahead 12-5 with just under 15 minutes remaining in the period.

Nebraska and Missouri played even over the next five minutes thanks in part to Richardson's aggressive play. Richardson responded to Missouri's surge by posting six points in that stretch, including snapping a 7:34 Husker field-goal drought with a driving layup at 10:59. His basket was followed by Myles Holley's acrobatic up-and-under scoop basket at the 10:18 mark that brought NU within three, 14-11.

But back-to-back 3-pointers by Paul and Lawrence Bowers pushed the Tigers out to a 20-13 lead with nine minutes to play in period. Missouri expanded the lead out to eight points two more times before NU started to fight back.

The Huskers then hunkered down and started to bring the defense to the Tigers, a team also known for its strong play on the defensive end. The Tigers missed five of their next six shots and had a pair of turnovers as Nebraska held Missouri with three field goals in the final nine minutes of the opening period.

Ryan Anderson started the rally with a pair of free throws and added one more following a Quincy Hankins-Cole basket. Jeter's traditional three-point play at the 3:35 mark pulled NU within two, 23-21, before Nebraska finally took the lead back as Henry drained his second 3-pointer of the half at the 3:03 mark to give NU a 24-23 advantage. Henry was wide open as the Huskers wrapped the ball around the key with great passing, and was set up by Anderson's tip of a pass and Jeter's steal. MU then held on for the two-point lead at the break.

The Cornhuskers return to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 27, when Nebraska travels to Boulder to take on Colorado at the Coors Events Center. The Huskers and Buffaloes will tip off at 9 p.m. CT (8 p.m. MT) in a game televised live on FS Rocky Mountain in Colorado. The game will also be on tape delay, starting at 10 p.m. CT (9 p.m. MT) in the state of Nebraska on FS Midwest.