Anderson Helps Huskers Fly Past Hawks

Lincoln - Ryan Anderson scored eight of his team-high 17 points in a four-minute stretch around halftime to lead the Nebraska basketball team (11-3) to a 74-60 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore at the Devaney Center on Saturday afternoon.

Anderson was one of three Huskers in double figures along with Jorge Brian Diaz (11) and Brandon Richardson (10), as the trio combined for 38 of Nebraska's 74 points. It marked the eighth time coach Doc Sadler's team has reached the 70-point plateau this season.

The senior from Seattle helped the Huskers escape a pesky Hawk squad, as his first 3-pointer of the game with 32 seconds left in the first half gave Nebraska a 30-26 lead at intermission and sparked Nebraska to an improved second-half performance. Anderson then began the final 20 minutes where he left off, connecting from downtown on Nebraska's second possession of the second half, and then delivering a nice pass to Brandon Ubel underneath for another quick field goal. Anderson's contributions led to a 13-3 run over the first 3:50 of the second half, capped by an Eshaunte Jones 3-pointer to give the Huskers a 43-29 lead with 16:10 remaining in the game.

Jones hit a trio of 3-pointers in the second half, with his final trey giving Nebraska a 17-point lead (56-39) with nine minutes remaining in the game. Jones also dished to Anderson on the block for an old-fashioned three-point play a possession earlier, forming an effective two-guard duo to escape UMES in the final stanza. Nebraska held its largest lead of the game with 3:42 remaining when a Myles Holley jumper put the Huskers in front by 23 points (67-44).

The Huskers shot 52 percent (15-of-29) from the field in the second half after hitting just 39 percent of their attempts in the first half (11-of-28).

Richardson scored eight of the Huskers' first 13 points of the game to guide NU through the first 10 minutes. The Hawks took a 2-0 lead in the opening minute and kept the first half close, but a pair of Richardson 3-pointers on Nebraska's first four possessions led NU to a 13-9 advantage.

The two teams traded runs the rest of the half, as UMES used a quick 8-2 spurt over the next 2:36 to take its last lead (17-15) with 11 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the first frame. Nebraska responded with a 10-0 run over the next four minutes, as Holley ignited the Devaney Center crowd with a high-flying one-handed slam, sandwiched in between buckets from Diaz.

UMES scored seven straight as the first half winded down, but Nebraska took a 30-26 lead into the locker room on Anderson's 3-pointer with 32 seconds left.

With the victory, Nebraska won its first game of the New Year for the ninth straight time. The Huskers are 9-0 at the Devaney Center this season and return to the same court Tuesday night for their final non-conference battle of the season.

Nebraska will take on Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. on Jan. 5. The game will be heard on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network and can be viewed on HuskersNside by subscribers to the service.