The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, January 28, 1988, Page 13, Image 12

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    Nebmyskan
Thursday, January 28,1988
Confident Reid sinks final shot, Jayhawks
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Only two points arc listed by Beau
Reid’s name in the final statistics of
the Nebraska men’s basketball game
Wednesday night, but you can bet
they’re the biggest two points of the
freshman’s career.
Reid hit a 19-foot jump shot with
one second remaining to give the
Cornhuskers a 70-68 win against
Kansas at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center. Reid’s shot came before
14,015 fans and raised Nebraska’s
record to 11-8 overall and 2-1 in the
Big Eight.
“It felt good,” Reid said of the
game-winning shot. “I concentrated
and saw nothing but the rim. I knew it
was going in as soon as I shot it.”
Reid said the Huskers were trying
to get the ball to Eric Johnson for the
last shot.
“We wanted to clear out the lane
for Eric and let him get his shot,” Reid
said. “He’s just superior one-on-one.”
But, Reid said, Nebraska coach
Danny Nee gave the go-ahead for any
open man to take the final shot.
“Coach said he wanted me to shoot
if I had the open shot,” Reid said. “He
said that I had to believe in myself and
that he believed in me, so I should too.
“That’s all 1 needed to hear.”
“It’s just unbelievable,” Nee said.
“Kansas was the superior basketball
team and played well for 39 minutes
and 30 seconds.”
Reid’s shot capped a 30-14 run by
the Huskcrs in the game’s final 11:16.
Kansas led Nebraska by as many as 16
points in the second half.
Nebraska had tied the Jayhawks at
68 on two free throws by Derrick Vick
with 24 seconds remaining al ter a foul
by Kansas’ Danny Manning.
Nebraska’s Henry T. Buchanan stole
the inbounds pass from Manning after
the Kansas center looked at the game
clock while bringing the ball up the
court. Buchanan called time out with
16 seconds left, and the stage was set
for another last-second Nebraska win
at the sports center.
Last season, Nebraska defeated
Kansas 83-81 in overtime in the last
regular season game of the year at the
sports center. The 70-68 score at this
year s game was the same margin of
victory as Nebraska’s upset of Mis
souri two weeks ago, when Buchanan
hit a layup, drew a foul and made the
ensuing free throw with five seconds
left.
“All I know is that we won again,”
Buchanan said.
Buchanan helped set up Reid’s
last-second heroics by sinking a three
pointer with 1:44 left to cut Kansas’
lead to 67-64. Nee said Buchanan is an
outstanding player in the clutch.
“He’s very special that way,” Nee
said. “There are other guards in the
Big Eight that are quicker and faster,
but he has such determination.”
Kansas led 40-28 at halftime and
extended its lead to 16 points three
times in the second half.
“Kansas’ pressure really bothered
us in the first half,” Nee said. “(At
halftime) we talked about getting into
our offense and executing, and the big
thing was ‘don’t quit.’”
Nebraska outscored Kansas 42-28
in the second half.
Manning scored 21 points to lead
the Jayhawks. Milt Newton added 11
and Chris Piper scored 10.
Buchanan scored 21 to lead Ne
braska, followed by Vick with 16, Jeff
Rekewcg with 15 and Pete Manning
with 10.
Nee said Husker fans played a big
part in Nebraska’s win.
“I thought the crowd coming in,
win or lose, would be magnificent in
the last 10 minutes and they hung
tough,” Nee said.
Reid agreed.
“When we were at the bench in the
huddle, I couldn’t hear Coach Nee
talking to us,” he said. “The crowd
was yelling ‘defense, defense,’ and
that had to shake them (the Jayhawks)
up. Especially when we cut their lead
to six, then to four, then two.”
Nee said the game, which was
Nebraska’s second Big Eight win at
home, showed the Huskers have a
chance to beat anybody at the sports
center.
“God was with us tonight and our
kids hung tough,” Nee said. “Some
times, you have to be lucky and this
time, we hung in there and won it.
“This game shows that we’re dan
gerous at home.”
70 -68 . . . again
Nebraska’s Beau Reid (middle) celebrates with cheerleader Kevin McCauley (left) and
Cornhusker guard Henry T. Buchanan after Reid sank the game-winning shot against
Kansas Wednesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
KU’s Manning relives sad scenario
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
Kansas center Danny Manning
found himself in a difficult scenario
during the Jayhawks’ 70-68 loss to
Nebraska Wednesday n ight at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
Manning, the Jayhawks’ All
America center, dribbled the ball off
his leg with 18 seconds remaining.
The turnover proved to be a costly
one, as Nebraska forward Beau Reid
sank a 19-foot jump shot as time
expired to give the Comhuskcrs the
win.
Manning said the game was similar
to Nebraska’s 83-81 overtime victory
against the Jayhawks last season. In
both games, the Huskers used last
second heroics to pull out the victo
ries.
The Huskers defeated Kansas last
season when forward Derrick Vick
drove past Manning and scored on a
layup as time expired.
Kansas basketball coach Larry
Brown said Manning’s dribbling error
came when the 6-11 senior waved off
Jayhawk guards Clint Normore and
Otis Livingston in favor of bringing
the ball up himself. He said it js
“scary” when a player of Manning’s
size has to bring the ball up court.
“I’m not faulting him for bringing
the ball up,” Brown said. “The sad
thing is you gotta have him bring the
ball up.”
Manning said he thought he could
bring the ball up court.
“I lost the bail,” he said. “1 just lost
the ball. I just had the ball and I tried
to bring it up and I lost it.”
Manning said the two-point loss to
Nebraska was a difficult one to accept
because the Jayhawks led by as many
as 16 points in the second half. He said
the 'Huskers were able to come back
because they ‘‘did the things neces
sary” to win.
“A loss is a loss,” Manning said,
‘‘but this one stinks.”
Brown said Nebraska’s victory
was a combination of Kansas sinking
fewer free throws than the Huskers in
the second half and the Jayhawks’
inability to conquer a “scared to
death” attitude. Kansas connected
on 12 of 16 free throws in the second
half, compared to the Huskers’ 14 of
19.
“It’s a killer,’ Brown said. “We got
control of the game and we don’t
match any free throws. We played
scared to death.”
Brown said there was no defensive
breakdown during Reid’s last-second
shot. He said he was frustrated that the
Jayhawks weren’t able to pick up a
loose ball that was left unprotected
shortly after Manning’s turnover.
“We haven’t picked up a loose ball
all year,” he said.
Brown said the Jayhawks grabbed
a 16-point lead with 11:56 remaining
in the second half because they re
bounded well and forced Nebraska to
turn the ball over.
But Brown said Kansas showed a
lack of leadership and poise down the
stretch. He said the fact that the Jay
hawks became tentative after missing
some shots they should have made
contributed to the cause.
“Good basketball teams don’t let
this happen,” Brown said. “We’re not
that good. We’re not a good basketball
team.”
Normore said the loss, which
dropped Kansas to 12-6 overall and 1 -
2 in the Big Eight, resulted from the
Jayhawks not responding to a tight
See NEBRASKA on 15
Missing first meet didn t slow JN U sprinter s progress
By Tim Hartmann
Senior Reporter
Nebraska track coach Gary Pepin
said he thinks sprinter Bill Troll’s
progress was hurt when he missed the
opening mectof the indoor season last
But Trott said
he thinks other
wise.
“I think it
made me a bit
hungrier to com
pete,” Trott said.
Trott missed _ ..
Nebraska’s meet r0“
against Drake, Wichita State and Bar
ton County Community College last
Saturday because of registration
problems. Trott said he neglected to
pay a fee, which led to the problems.
Pepin said Trott will be a major
factor now that the registration prob
lems arc behind him. He said he ex
pects to see a good performance from
Trott when Nebraska faces Colorado,
Colorado State and Washington Sat
urday at the Bob Dcvaney Sports
Center’s track complex.
Trott, who is a junior eligibility
wise for the indoor season but will be
a senior for the outdoor season, holds
four individual school records.
Trott holds school records in the
60-yard, 55-melcr and 60-mctcr
dashes in the indoor competition. In
the outdoor competition, he has the
school record in the 100 and also ran
the first leg of the record-setting 4 x
100 relay team.
Trott said he will compete exclu
sively in the 60 and in the long jump
during this year’s indoor season.
Pepin said Troll’s absence from
the first meet hurt his performance in
the long jump.
“He’s inexperienced in that event
and he needs to face competition,”
Pepin said. “It didn’t hurt him in the
60.”
Last year Trott placed second in
the Big Eight meet in the long jump
and the 60. He said he would like to
improve his performance in those
events this season.
“My first goal is to break my old
record in the 60, which is 6.16 (sec
onds),’’ Trott said. “Anything lower
than that, I’ll be satisfied with. I
would like to make it to the NCAA
finals in the 60 and also make the
NCAA’s in the long jump.”
Trott, a sociology major, came to
Nebraska from Long Beach City
College in Long Beach, Cal if. He said
California and his hometown of
Devonshire, Bermuda, have one
striking difference from Nebraska:
the weather.
But, Trott said, Nebraska has its
advantages.
“The fans arc really great and
some of the special friends I have
mean a great deal to me,” Trott said.
Trott said his future goals include
making Bermuda’s Olympic team. He
said he wants to become the NCAA
60-metcr champion before he leaves
Nebraska.
Trott said this season’s Husker
team looks strong, but it’s too early to
say how it will do at the NCAA meet.
He said the success of this year’s team
will depend on how well the freshmen
compete and how soon several in
jured runners return to the team.
“We’ll have to sec how we do in
the Big Eight first,” he said.