Dave Riggert – Page 525 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Nebraska women rally to defeat in-state rival Creighton

Posted on December 6, 2015December 6, 2015

Lincoln – Nebraska produced the largest comeback in Coach Connie Yori’s 14 seasons with the Huskers, rallying from 21 points down late in the second quarter for a 65-63 win over in-state rival Creighton on Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The Huskers, who improved to 6-1 on the season, trailed 41-20 with with just over five minutes left in the first half before coming all the way back to take the lead on Rachel Theriot’s three-pointer from the left wing with 1:35 left. Theriot’s second three of the game put the Huskers up 64-62. It was Nebraska’s first lead since 2-0 to start the game.

Theriot sealed the win with a free throw with eight seconds left to finish with 17 points and a game-high eight assists. She did all of her scoring in the final 30:01 of game action, including a buzzer-beating three from 25-feet on the right wing to close the first half and send the Huskers to halftime down 43-32.

Creighton, who slipped to 4-4, raced to a 33-16 lead at the end of the first quarter by hitting eight of its first nine three-point attempts in the first 10 minutes. The Bluejays went 1-for-15 from beyond the arc the rest of the way.

CU freshman Audrey Faber did the most damage in the first quarter and the game, scoring 13 of her game-high 22 points in the opening period. The 6-2 forward added five rebounds, six assists, six blocked shots and two steals. She hit 9-of-13 shots from the floor, including 4-of-5 threes in the game.

Nebraska answered with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists from 6-4 freshman forward Jessica Shepard. The Huskers also got 13 points, three rebounds and two assists from sophomore guard Natalie Romeo, including a driving layup to cut the margin to 62-61 with 3:02 left.

Nebraska’s season-high crowd of 6,056 erupted on each big shot in the fourth quarter, while exhorting the Big Red possession after possession on the defensive end.

“We probably don’t win that game without that crowd today,” Yori said. “They were unbelievable. I told our team that in the locker room and they all agreed. They know how much of an impact our fans can have when they get into a game like that. There were a few times in that fourth quarter when the building sounded like it was sold out.”

Junior Allie Havers, who went 3-for-3 from the floor and 2-for-2 at the line, added eight huge points off the bench to help start NU’s rally in the first half. She added four rebounds, a block and a steal. Freshman Rachel Blackburn added six points and 10 huge rebounds, including a putback with 3:45 left to trim CU’s lead to 62-59.

The Huskers led 2-0 after a Shepard jumper to open the game, then watched the Jays hit six consecutive three-pointers to take an 18-8 lead with 5:14 left in the first quarter. CU then hit three two-point field goals before knocking down their seventh three to push the margin to 27-10 with 2:41 left in the first. CU’s eighth three came from Faber with 1:51 left to push the edge to 20 for the first time at 30-10, before Havers scored six straight points for the Big Red. But a traditional three-point play from MC McGrory sent the Jays to the second quarter with a 33-16 lead.

Nebraska outscored the Jays 16-10 in the second quarter and 14-11 in the third quarter, before closing out the win with a 19-9 edge in the fourth quarter.

For the game, the team statistics were eerily similar. The Huskers hit 48.1 percent (26-54) of their shots from the floor, while Creighton went 26-of-55 (.473). Both teams committed nine turnovers, but the Big Red outrebounded the Bluejays, 37-24. Creighton hit 9-of-24 threes (.375) while NU went 3-for-6, but the Huskers outscored CU, 10-2, at the free throw line. The Huskers committed a season-low six fouls, while Creighton was whistled for 12.

Nebraska concludes its three-game home stand on Tuesday night when the Huskers take on Evansville. Tip-off between the Big Red and Purple Aces is set for 7 p.m., with tickets available now at Huskers.com.

— NU Athletics —

No. 18 MWSU rallies from 13-point 4th quarter deficit at Southwest Baptist

Posted on December 5, 2015

BOLIVAR, Mo. – With eight minutes to go, things looked bleak for the 18th ranked Missouri Western Women’s Basketball team. The Griffons trailed by 13 points and had five players, including four starters, with four fouls. But a 27-8 run by Missouri Western in the final eight minutes lifted the team to a 93-87 win at Southwest Baptist and preserved the team’s unblemished record.

An 18-4 run after falling behind by 13 in the fourth quarter put Missouri Western up by one with 2:10 to go. Southwest Baptist tied the game at 84 with 1:26 left but Chelsea Dewey’s first field goal of the game with 1:19 left gave the Griffons a lead they would not surrender. Missouri Western used 61 percent shooting from the field and 89 percent shooting from the free throw line in the second half to close the gap and take its first lead in the game late in the fourth quarter.

The Griffons went to halftime down by 10 after shooting 25 percent from the field and battling through early foul trouble. The game featured 68 personal fouls and 88 free throw attempts. Missouri Western found itself in early foul trouble but battled through and used Southwest Baptist’s late foul trouble to its advantage.

Sarafina Handy led all scorers with 24 points. She added seven rebounds and four steals. Miliakere Koyamainavure and Jefferson both ended the game with 18 points. Jefferson scored 16 of those in the second half.

Missouri Western improved its record to 7-0 and 2-0 in MIAA play. The Griffons are 3-0 on the road, matching the away win total from the previous two seasons, combined. Pittsburg State will visit the Fieldhouse Thursday, Dec. 10 for a 5:30 tip.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcats pull off upset at No. 12 Central Missouri

Posted on December 5, 2015December 5, 2015

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team knocked off No. 12 Central Missouri, 72-58, on Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.

Northwest moves to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play. UCM falls to 7-1 overall and 1-1 in conference action.

Conner Crooker scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He hit 5-of-8 three point attempts and grabbed six rebounds.

Justin Pitts had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Bearcats. He hit a pair of three pointers, one in each half. Anthony Woods scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He had five rebounds and a block. D’Vante Mosby had nine points for the Bearcats. He had nine rebounds, five coming on the offensive end of the court. He also had a pair of steals in 24 minutes.

Northwest outrebounded the Mules, 45-29, and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 18 second chance points.

Northwest hit 17-of-23 free throw attempts (73.9%), going 13-for-16 (81.3%) in the second half.

The Bearcats fell behind 7-4 early in the first half. But Mosby hit a pair of free throws and woods added a layup to give Northwest its’ first lead of the game, 8-7. Mosby hit his second three pointer of the season to put Northwest up by four, 11-7. Pitts would hit a jumper and after a Crooker missed shot, Mosby cleaned up the board to cap an 11-5 Bearcat run.

Northwest held a 45-38 lead at the 14:22 mark of the second half on a Woods layup. But UCM cut the lead to five, 45-40, on a jumper. But Northwest would respond with a quick 13-4 run over the next seven minutes. Pitts and Schneider knocked down back-to-back three pointers. Woods added three points from the charity stripe and Dougherty hit a pair of free throws to go along with a Crooker jumper.

The Bearcats head to Joplin, Mo., for a Wednesday evening game at Missouri Southern at 7:30 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffons suffer fourth straight loss as they come up short at SBU

Posted on December 5, 2015December 5, 2015

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team suffered its fourth consecutive loss Saturday at Southwest Baptist 79-76, as Trey Sampson missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game and given the Griffons a chance in overtime.

Sampson’s miss capped a comeback effort by Missouri Western that gave the Griffons a chance after trailing by as many as 14 points in the game and 11 in the second half. Missouri Western trailed by five with 24 seconds left in the game, but three pointers from Currie Byrd and Cole Clearman brought Missouri Western within one with nine seconds left. Nate Nahirny made two free throws to stretch SBU’s lead to three and to set up Sampson’s three to tie.

Sampson led Missouri Western with 17 points and four assists. Currie Byrd added 11 points and five rebounds and Kevin Thomas finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. The Griffons lost the rebound battle 4-30 and were outscored in the paint, 30-20. The Griffons shot 50 percent from the field and from three-point range in the second half, overcoming 27 percent shooting in the first half and 10 percent from the three-point line before the break.

Missouri Western falls to 2-6 on the year and 0-2 in MIAA play. The team returns home this week to host Pittsburg State on Thursday and Missouri Southern on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Kansas State rallies for 24-23 win over West Virginia

Posted on December 5, 2015December 5, 2015

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State players never discussed what they would do if they lost to West Virginia on Saturday night, and had the rare opportunity to play in a bowl game with a losing record.

That’s because they never gave themselves the option of losing.

“The whole team had the mindset of earning it,” said senior Morgan Burns, who returned a kickoff 97 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in a 24-23 victory over the Mountaineers. “I think we all felt strongly about winning this game, the importance of it.”

Taking over for the injured Joe Hubener, wide receiver Kody Cook flourished once more as the emergency quarterback, running for a touchdown and hitting Deante Burton with a 77-yard scoring strike that helped the Wildcats (6-6, 3-6 Big 12) climb out of a 13-3 halftime hole.

They went on to win their third straight game, ensuring they’ll go to a bowl game for the sixth consecutive year. While not official, the likely destination is the Liberty Bowl.

“There’s not a senior in our program that’s been involved in a losing season,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “In my way of thinking, that had to be important to them.”

Wendell Smallwood ran for 141 yards and a touchdown for West Virginia (7-5, 4-5), but he didn’t have the ball in his hands with the game on the line. Instead, quarterback Skyler Howard was stopped by Charmeachealle Moore on fourth-and-2 at their own 46 with 2:33 left to turn over the ball.

The Wildcats picked up enough first downs to essentially run out the clock.

Howard had 281 yards and a touchdown through the air, but it was his inability to pick up the key fourth down on the ground that dropped West Virginia to 0-4 against Kansas State in Big 12 play.

“We beat ourselves,” West Virginia wide receiver Jordan Thompson said. “Returning the kickoff for a touchdown was a big change in the game. Credit to K-State. We didn’t execute well.”

The Wildcats would likely have earned a bowl invite even with a defeat because there are not enough six-win teams to fill all the slots, and a few will be allocated based on Academic Progress Rate. But players said all week that they wanted to reach six wins and truly earn a bowl bid.

It looked like that would be a struggle during a first half dominated by the West Virginia defense, which only surrendered Matt McCrane’s 40-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

Josh Lambert hit a pair of first-half field goals for the Mountaineers — though he also pushed an attempt wide right. But the biggest play in the half came when Howard floated a pass to Jovon Durante in the back of the end zone, the 24-yard strike helping West Virginia to a 13-3 lead at the break.

It was early in the second half that Hubener was crunched by a pair of defenders.

Cook, who has played a handful of games as the emergency QB, entered the fray. He hit Kyle Klein with his first pass attempt before later sneaking in from a yard out for a touchdown.

Kansas State’s defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back, and Cook winged a pass downfield that Burton caught in stride. He out-ran the rest of the defense for a 17-13 lead.

This time, West Virginia answered with a touchdown drive. Smallwood did most of the work, then finished off the march with a 14-yard scamper over the right side to quiet the crowd.

When Lambert hit his third field goal, the Mountaineers led 23-17 with 13:07 left in the game.

That’s when West Virginia elected once more to kick to Burns, who broke a 67-yard return earlier in the game. The senior started up field, darted to his left and hit the sideline, utilizing a couple of blocks to reach the end zone for a Big 12 record-tying fourth time this season.

“What they do special-teams wise, I’ve never been a part of a game where that really was the difference,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. “But that’s what Kansas State does.”

The extra point proved to be the margin of victory.

“I’m disappointed for our guys,” Holgorsen said, “but the good news is that we still have another game. I know our guys will regroup and play hard.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest women get clobbered by Central Missouri 85-39

Posted on December 5, 2015December 5, 2015

Central Missouri hit 14 three-pointers in Saturday’s 85-39 victory over the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team.

The Bearcats are now 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the MIAA, while the Jennies improve to 2-5 and 1-1 in conference action.

Taylor Shull scored nine points for the second straight game to lead the Bearcats.

After the Jennies scored the first four points of the game, Tanya Meyer drained a three-pointer after a pass from Tember Schechinger to put the Bearcats on the board. Late in the quarter, Jaylah Jackson found Meyer under the basket for a layup before Alexa Schaaf knocked down a trey on a pass from Taylor Shull, closing the gap to 17-11 after the first 10 minutes.

With less than four minutes to play, Arbrie Benson hit a jumper before the Bearcats forced a Jennie turnover. Carlie Wilhelmi then scored five straight points for Northwest, three from the charity stripe and two on a layup following her own offensive rebound.

The Bearcats will wrap up a three-game road trip when they head to Joplin, Mo. to face off with Missouri Southern on Wednesday, Dec. 9. First tip is scheduled for 5:30.

— Northwest Athletics —

No. 4 Kansas holds off Harvard 75-69

Posted on December 5, 2015December 5, 2015

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Landen Lucas led No. 4 Kansas’ rebounding domination over Harvard on Saturday.

He grabbed four offensive rebounds and four defensive rebounds and six of the boards came in the second half of the Jayhawks’ 75-69 victory.

Lucas started the second half in place of Jamari Traylor, who didn’t pull down a single rebound in the first half. Lucas finished with five points, four in the second half.

“He’s by far our best big,” Kansas coach Bill Self said of Lucas. “He defended (Zena Edosomwan) great. And (he’s) a terrific player. (Lucas) was by far the only big guy we had who could guard him one-on-one.”

Frank Mason III scored 21 points and Perry Ellis and Devonte’ Graham added 12 points for Kansas (6-1).

“We were disappointed in not really paying attention to details,” Mason said. “Giving up open looks and easy baskets.”

Some of those “details” were how Harvard scored 32 of its 69 points in the paint and had 11 offensive rebounds.

Freshman reserve Weisner Perez had 15 points, Tommy McCarthy added 11 and Edosomwan had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Crimson (2-6) in their third straight loss.

“Our message for our kids for this game was concentration, composure, confidence and competitive,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “If we could try to see if we could attack those c-words and we thought that we would feel good about ourselves.”

Midway through the first half, freshman Cheick Diallo pulled up and hit a mid-range jumper to put Kansas up 15-12. That jumper started a 17-4 run for the Jayhawks. Kansas scored only four points in the final 6 minutes of the first half.

The Jayhawks came out of halftime scoring four points in less than 40 seconds, but fell flat offensively after that, going a full 2 minutes without scoring. In that time, Harvard cut Kansas’ lead from 13 to nine, and subsequently got within four after Evan Cummins dunked.

The pairing of stagnant offensive play and ineffective defense from Kansas allowed Harvard to get within one with under 12 minutes to go.

“We had to be scrappy,” Edosomwan said.

Kansas managed to get some cushion from two layups, one from Svi Mykhailiuk and the other from Lucas, but that five-point lead was short-lived.

On the ensuing possession, McCarthy released a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, bringing Harvard back within one. Forty-five seconds later, it was a tie game.

“I’ve always had a knack for playing in the moment and playing my strengths,” McCarthy said. “I never really back down from anyone. I’m pretty confident in myself and my abilities. When it was time to step up, I tried to just do my best.”

And then Kansas surged.

Ellis completed a three-point play and hit a jumper two possessions later to put the Jayhawks back up by five points. Two 3-pointers later, the Jayhawks found themselves up by seven with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Crimson cut into the lead once more with under 3 minutes to go, but it wasn’t enough.

TIP-INS

Harvard: Edosomwan’s double-double was his third of the season.

Kansas: The Jayhawks have never lost to an Ivy League school.

UP NEXT

Harvard visits Boston University on Tuesday.

Kansas hosts Holy Cross on Wednesday.

STAT LINES

Wayne Selden Jr. of the Jayhawks is shooting 62.9 percent (22 of 35) from behind the arc. That ranks him No. 7 nationally.

WELCOME HOME

Kansas basketball Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard was recognized during a timeout for being named the 2015 Naismith Contributor to Women’s Basketball. Woodard played at Kansas from 1978 to 1981 and was the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.

— Associated Press —

No. 4 Huskers sweep Wichita State to advance to Sweet 16

Posted on December 5, 2015December 5, 2015

Lincoln – Strong serving and an outstanding night from Mikaela Foecke powered the fourth-seeded Nebraska volleyball team into the Sweet 16, as the Huskers swept the Wichita State Shockers in a second-round NCAA Tournament match Saturday night in a front of sellout crowd of 8,132 at the Devaney Center.

The Huskers trailed for a total of only five rallies in the match, cruising to a 25-19, 25-19, 25-14 win for their 12th consecutive victory. With the win, Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Regional for the 21st time in the past 22 seasons. Nebraska will face either No. 13 BYU or Western Kentucky next Friday in Lexington, Ky. Game time for that match will be either 4 or 6:30 p.m. (Central) and the match will be carried on ESPN3.

Foecke had a match-high 12 kills without an error to post a .600 attack percentage. Foecke connected on 11 of her first 14 swings and added one of Nebraska’s six aces. All three of the Huskers’ primary outside hitters tallied double-digit kills, as Kelsey Fien registered 10 kills and Kadie Rolfzen had 11 kills and only one error on 26 swings. Rolfzen also added a team-high 13 digs to post her seventh straight double-double in postseason play. Setter Kelly Hunter dished out 38 assists and added four kills of her own while directing a Husker offense that hit .347 on the night.

Wichita State was led by its middles, as Abbie Lehman and Katie Reilly combined for 22 kills on 33 swings with only one error. Lehman produced 10 kills on 15 error-free swings, while Reilly had 11 kills and hit .556. Their efforts were not enough, however, as Wichita State ended its season with a 27-9 record.

Set One: The teams traded leads three times early in set one before Nebraska scored five straight points to take a 10-6 advantage. The Huskers continued to lead by at least two and tried to pull away by winning four consecutive points to take a 21-14 lead. But the Shockers fought back, scoring four straight points to pull within 23-18 and force Nebraska to use its first timeout. Three rallies later, the Huskers closed out a six-point win on Kadie Rolfzen’s third kill. Nebraska hit .417 in the opening set, fueled by freshman Mikaela Foecke, who had six kills on eight error-free swings. Wichita State also attacked well, hitting at a .364 clip.

Set Two: Nebraska never trailed in set two and was tied for only one rally after Wichita State scored four straight points to pull even at 8-8. The Huskers answered the Shockers’ run by winning seven of the next nine rallies to take a 15-10 lead into the media timeout. Nebraska stretched its lead to as many as seven before Kelly Hunter scored on a setter dump to cap the Huskers’ second straight 25-19 win. Foecke continued to dominate, tallying five kills on 10 swings in the second set, giving her 11 kills on 18 error-free swings through the first two sets. Kelsey Fien added four kills for Nebraska, while Abbie Lehman had four kills on seven swings for the Shockers.

Set Three: The Huskers scored four straight points to jump out to a 5-2 lead in set three. Nebraska maintained its three-point advantage at 11-8 before the Huskers won 14 of the final 20 rallies. Senior Meghan Haggerty ended the match with her final swing at the Devaney Center, putting down her second kill of the set on the Huskers’ first match point. Nebraska hit .389 in the final set, fueled by five kills from Kadie Rolfzen on seven swings. The Huskers also totaled two blocks in the third set to hold Wichita State to a .118 attack percentage.

— NU Athletics —

Missouri State knocks off Oklahoma State in Stillwater

Posted on December 5, 2015December 5, 2015

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Missouri State has played some tough opponents so far this season and wasn’t able to pull out wins against teams such as Butler, Minnesota and Utah State.

On Saturday at Oklahoma State, it looked like the Bears might find a way to lose yet again, but Dequon Miller scored five of his 21 points in the final 20 seconds to help Missouri State avoid a massive second-half collapse and escape with a 64-63 victory.

Camyn Boone scored 17 points and added nine rebounds for Missouri State (2-5), which led 39-22 early in the second half.

“I’m most pleased for every one of our players in that locker room,” said Missouri State coach Paul Lusk. “In the second half, we knew it was going to get difficult. We were ready to break completely but we stuck with it and found a way to win the game.”

Jawun Evans and Jeff Newberry each scored 15 points to lead Oklahoma State (5-3), which lost its second straight. Evans, who scored all of his points in the second half, added five rebounds and seven assists.

The Cowboys rallied through the second half, using a 12-2 run to lead 49-48 on Newberry’s 10-foot jump shot with 6:14 to go.

The lead traded hands five times after that, with Oklahoma State going up 63-59 following two free throws from Newberry with 28 seconds remaining, before Miller’s late heroics.

Miller made it a one-point game with 17 seconds left after his free throw completed a 3-point play. Then, after Evans missed two free throws, Miller went the length of the court for a layup with 7.3 seconds left to put Missouri State ahead 64-63.

“I’m happy for him, because he’s really struggled to this point,” Lusk said of Miller, who came into the game averaging 8.7 points. “He’s a junior-college kid who’s making the transition. But we believe in him and happy that he did some good things out there.”

As for Evans’ failure in the clutch, Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford stood behind his freshman guard.

“He made some big shots in the second half, did a really good job,” Ford said. “He’ll get another opportunity at some point to make those, he’s a really good free-throw shooter. That’s life.”

Joe Burton, who played just four minutes, attempted a 3-pointer as time expired for Oklahoma State but it fell short.

“Their guys showed a lot of toughness, a lot of maturity, down the stretch,” Ford said. “It’s not easy to do, when you have a big lead and you lose the lead. They showed a lot of mental toughness.”

Trailing 32-20 at halftime, things got worse for Oklahoma State before they got better, as Missouri State opened the second half with a 7-2 run to build a 39-22 lead.

The Cowboys reeled off an 11-2 run to pull back to within 41-33 following Newberry’s fast-break dunk with 14:35 remaining. Oklahoma State continued to whittle away, making it 43-37 with 12:15 to go on Anthony Allen’s jump shot.

Missouri State led from the opening tip-off, building a 9-2 lead over the first seven minutes and holding to the Cowboys to 1-of-9 shooting. Oklahoma State put together a 9-2 run to pull to within 11-9, but Missouri State scored the next six points.

The Bears continued to increase their lead, closing on another 9-2 run to take a 32-20 lead into halftime — just the second time this season the Bears led at the break.

OSU missed its last seven shots in the first half, shooting 28.6 percent (8 of 28) from the floor.

—

TIP INS

Missouri State won the rebounding battle 41-31, marking the sixth time in seven contests that they matched or led in that category. Of those, 10 were offensive boards, giving the Bears 84 on the season.

Oklahoma State, which entered the game ranking fifth in the nation in blocked shots and seventh in blocks per game (6.7), recorded just two blocks.

MASH UNIT

With senior leader Phil Forte III already out indefinitely with an elbow injury, Oklahoma State lost Newberry to a head injury after he collided with teammate Tyree Griffin with 14 seconds remaining. Newberry stayed down for several minutes and was bleeding from his nose before leaving the court under his own power. Afterwards, he was being evaluated for a head injury.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

“They played really well. Give them credit, their team played well, made big plays and showed a lot of grit.” — Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford, who repeated a variation of this phrase at least six different times, doing his best Marshawn Lynch impression, during his postgame press conference.

UP NEXT

Missouri State faces IUPUI at home next Thursday.

Oklahoma State goes up against Minnesota next Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

— Associated Press —

White’s career high 30 leads Nebraska past Abilene Christian

Posted on December 5, 2015December 5, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Andrew White III picked up a scholarship before Nebraska played Abilene Christian Saturday, then scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Huskers to a 73-63 win over the Wildcats.

White did much of his damage at the free throw line where Nebraska won the game. The Huskers had one less field goal and one less 3-pointer than Abilene Christian. But the Huskers were 27-for-36 from free throw line. The Wildcats were 14-for- 17.

“I got to the free throw line,” said White who made 14 of 16 from the stripe. “I don’t think I’ve ever, in my years of playing basketball, shot that many free throws. I think part of that was just crashing the boards. I think my teammates did a good job looking for me also and, just being more aggressive.”

White, who also had career highs in rebounds with seven and steals with four, scored seven straight points in the second-half spurt that put the Huskers in the lead for good. Shavon Shields added 21 points and Tai Webster 10.

Slow-starting Nebraska (6-3) led Abilene Christian (3-5) 46-43 when Shields hit a pair of free throws with 15:32 left to start a breakaway run. White then hit a pair of free throws, a 3-pointer and two more charity shots to put Nebraska up 55-45 with 12:50 left.

The Wildcats cut the lead to seven twice but could get no closer.

The Huskers started the game 1-for-10 from the field, falling behind 12-7. Nebraska then hit 7 of its next 9, going up 31-26 on a Shields fast-break layup with 6:54 left in the half. The Huskers led 36-34 at the half.

“Thank goodness for Shavon and Andrew,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “You’ve got to score to win. I’m not pleased with anybody’s defense. I think you have to credit Abilene Christian.They hit some tough shots early. Once a team gains confidence, it’s on. That’s what we allowed them to do the first half. Once you open that door anything could happen.”

Abilene Christian coach Joe Golding was pleased with how his team performed.

“I thought our guys played well,” he said. We were able to get some stops in the first half, but we let them get to the free throw line too much in the second half. Shields is a great player, and they have more size than we could put out there. We have to do a better job of guarding without fouling. We turned the ball over too much (20 turnovers), but I thought our guys competed for 40 minutes. I’m very proud of the way this team came on the road and competed for 40 minutes against a solid Big Ten team. Our team is growing up and I believe it will show down the road.”

Duran Porter led the Wildcats with 17 points, Jaylen Franklin added 14 and Jovan Crnic 13.

Prior to the game, White received the third Bus Whitehead Memorial Basketball Scholarship. The scholarship is presented for athletic achievement, moral character and leadership.

“It was a big honor,” White said. “I was really surprised…You have do more than just be a good basketball player to get something like that. I’m just glad people think enough of my character to award me with something like that.”

——–

TIP INS

Abilene Christian: The Wildcats are 4-19 against non-conference Division I opponents in its two-plus years in Division I. The Wildcats are 0-16 in true road games.

Nebraska: Shields’ 21 points is his third 20-point game this season.

UP NEXT

Abilene Christian hosts Schreiner Dec. 12.

Nebraska plays Creighton Tuesday in Omaha.

— Associated Press —