The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, November 15, 1996, Page 7, Image 7
i II ' 'll I kMl l ■ i I MikeKluck Exhibition win gives Huskers needed boost Naivety is great. For example, there are many times I believe I am a better punter than Nebraska’s Jesse Kosch. But then I watch Kosch work out, and reality sets in. I realize my 10-yard punts don’t quite match his booming 45-yard kicks. And then factuality sets in, and I realize what would happen if I had to run 60 yards downfield after a kick. I’d drop dead. Right now, the Nebraska basket ball team is enjoying being young and naive. Nobody told the youthful Husk ers that Marathon Oil was 5-1 and had defeated Georgia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference by 29 nninfc Along with that, nobody told not suppb^"fer£a^e3-pointm If" the buzzer look as easy as Nebraska sprinter Tom Fish running the 100 meter dash. But Belcher’s bomb with less than one second remaininggave the. Huskers an 82-81 victory Thursday night. “I was hoping I would get the ball,” said Belcher, who hit all four . of his shots from behind the 3-point ate. “We need to come together more as a team right now. We just have a few individuals. We haven’t played together for very long. If we just come together as a team, I think we will be hard to beat” Ahh, naivety. Nobody told sophomore Larry Florence that in his first game as a Husker, he’s not supposed to make a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remain ing to tie the game. And he’s not to Belcher for the zame-ilrihiier. Thursday was the first time he’s ever hit a shot like that, he said. It was also the first 3-point attempt of his college career. “(This game) will give us a lot of confidence,” Florence said,, “knowing that (Tyronn Lue and Mikki Moore) fouled out and our young guys stepped up.” And confidence may be die one counter to naivety. Once a team has confidence, it goes from thinking it can win to knowing it can win. And that’s when it can become dangerous. ^ f, The young Huskers may not be dangerous yet, but they are cer tainly developing confidence.1 “Yeah, we’re ready for Texas,” Florence said. ; ' The Huskers open their season on Nov. 23 against the Longhorns. Hey, who knows, the Huskers may qualify for their seventh straight postseason tournament — and I may be able to run 60 yards downfield after booming a punt. 8 puiy Neoras HC - SjSSPF ■ *i.. -* ■ e- ■ • Blackshirts hitting stride as final stretch approaches. By David Wilson Staff Reporter Nine games into the season, the Ne braska defense is prepared to lead the Comhuskers through die stretch run of the season. Fifth ranked Nebraska (8-1 overall and 6 0 in the Big 12) will travel to Ames Saturday to face Iowa State (2-7 and 1-5) at 1 p.m at Cyclone Sta dium. Rush end Grant Wistrom said the Huskier defense, which has held opponents to 10 points and 227.4 yards per game this season, still has room for improvment. ‘7 don’t think we’ve readied our full potential yet,” Wistrom said. lkllRELL FARLEY will lead Nebraska’s defense into Ames against Iowa State on Saturday has played extremely well. But I don’t think we’ve had a game where after we walk off the field, everbody on our de fense can say, 'I played great today.’ If we can do that, then as a team we’re going to play out of this world.” The Cyclone attack is led by junior Troy Davis, who leads the nation with 1,822 yards rushing, averaging 6.7 yards per attempt Bat the Blackshirts have had little trouble stopping the run this season, allowing opponents just 1.9 yards per Please see HSU on 8 Last-second 3-pointer ices | By David Wilson otaff Reporter With 0.9 sec onds remaining' true freshman CookiC Belcher j buried 4 high* arching 3-pointer Belcher as time expired to ice the victory before 6,096 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. “When I saw Larry (Florence) throw it to me,” Belcher said, “I just caught it and shot it I just tried to fo cus on toe rim.” Florence, who inbounded toe ball cm toe last-second play, said his first option was Bernard Gamer, who wasn’t open. With Nebraska down 79 76, Florence—playing his first game as a Husker — tied toe game, nailing a 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds remain ing. After a timeout, Marathon Oil re gained a 81-79 lead when guard Joe McLean grabbed a rebound, turned around and hit a field goal with three seconds on toe clock. Gamer’s full-court inbound pass was tipped out of bounds, leaving 0.9 seconds on toe clock ami setting the Please see HOOPS on 8 ■ '4 By Vince D’Adamo Staff Reporter must-win at K-Sfote Tonight's .match til