Huskers Fall at Texas A&M

College Station, Texas -- Texas A&M used a decisive 18-6 run late in the second half to pull away for a 64-53 victory over Nebraska in both team's Big 12 opener Saturday afternoon. With the loss, Nebraska fell to 12-4 (0-1 Big 12) on the season while the Aggies improved to 12-3 (1-0).

Nebraska finished the game hitting just 37.0 percent (20-of-54) from the field while A&M connected on just 38.3 percent (18-of-47). The Aggies, however, salted the game away at the free throw line, as they got to the stripe 33 times, hitting 25, while Nebraska reached the charity line only nine times, making six.

Freshman Christian Standhardinger made his career debut and led the Huskers in scoring, producing 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He also added a team-best seven rebounds, as the Huskers were outrebounded by a 40-28 margin. Jorge Brian Diaz also finished in double figures for Nebraska, posting 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Neither team got out of the gates easily, as the teams combined to go 17-of-49 from the floor in the opening period. Nebraska actually had a slight edge, shooting 34.8 percent (8-of-23) to A&M's 34.6 percent (9-of-26) in the opening 20 minutes. The Aggies were 8-of-13 inside the two-point area but just 1-of-13 from 3-point range. Texas A&M finished 3-of-21 from long range.

After A&M jumped out to a 9-6 lead at the first media timeout, the teams went on to play to a near stalmate for five minutes. Neither team scored a basket for three minutes until Sek Henry's driving layup at the 9:20 mark. That pulled the Huskers within three, 13-10, and A&M added three more baskets and went ahead 19-10 before the Husker offense finally started clicking.

Standhardinger connected on a traditional three-point play to begin the surge and another freshman, Brandon Ubel, added a basket 27 seconds later to cut the deficit to four points, at 19-15.

Following Eshaunte Jones' 3-pointer, Naji Hibbert added a putback for the Aggies with 2:29 to go, pushing A&M out to a 22-18 lead.  Nebraska had held the Aggies without a basket from the 8:28 mark until that bucket and another defensive stand helped the Huskers get in position to pull even at the end of the half.

Ryan Anderson drained a 3-pointer with 52.3 seconds left in the period, and NU had the ball back with another possession, but came up empty. B.J. Holmes then went the length of the court in less than five seconds and converted a traditional three-point play for a 26-21 halftime lead.

After the break, the Huskers clawed their way back into the game, pulling within three on Anderson's 3-pointer early in the second half. Nebraska kept answering each A&M basket before finally getting over the hump. 

The Huskers trailed all game until Sek Henry's 3-pointer with 11:16 to play put Nebraska ahead 39-38. Bryan Davis' basket put A&M back on top, before Standhardinger countered with his only 3-pointer of the game to give NU a two-point advantage, 42-40, with 10:29 to play.

The Aggies then scored 11 of the next 12 points on the board, pushing the lead out to eight points, 51-43, on a pair of Donald Sloan free throws. Sloan went to the line 14 times, making 13, as he scored a game-high 26 points. A&M's 9-0 run was keyed by Sloan and Holmes, who combined for 34 points for the Aggies.

The Cornhuskers return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 13, when they host their Big 12 home opener against No. 1 Kansas at the Devaney Center. The Huskers and Jayhawks will tip off at 8:05 p.m. and the game can be seen around the country on ESPN2.