Wildcats collapse
against NU defense
- ✓✓
mm
We just got caught
offguard by their
defense.”
TomAsbuby
KSU basketball coach
“If we had made one or two more
of our foul shots,” Asbury said, “this
thing would have been over and done
with in regulation.”
The Wildcats panicked when they
failed to capitalize at the free-throw
line and dug themselves into an even
deeper hole by committing 29 personal
fouls.
KSU also committed 25 turnovers
— 16 in the second half—while NU
committed just 16. Marcus McCullogh
had six turnovers for the Wildcats.
Three starters—guard Chris Grif
fin, Swartzendruber and center Gerald
Eaker — along with key reserve
McCullough fouled out of the game.
Another starter, Shawn Rhodes,
played much of the second half and
all of overtime with four fouls.
Asbury said the Huskers’ defensive
pressure indirectly caused his team’s
foul problems.
“You have to defend and make
things happen before the other team
gets the ball,” Asbury said. “We let
them dictate the situation.
“It’s a tough loss to swallow, but
we played hard. We just got caught
off guard by their defense.”
KSU lost for the fourth straight
time dropping to 7-6 this season.
“The 1-3-1 hurt us,” said Rhodes,
who had only three points. “There’s
absolutely no doubt about it. We didn’t
think they’d do it that much, and it
caught us off guard.”
NU women <
stopK-State ;j
WOMEN from page 9 “
points per game, said. “My team- f
mates picked it up. We found a way - j
to win at home.” i \
The Huskers came out flat in the ^ ]
games’ first 12 minutes as Kansas ” j
State jumped out to a 23-14 lead. * l
Angie Finkes led the Wildcats „ j
with 14 points. Missy Decker added ^ ]
12 and Brit Jacobsen contributed - \
10 for KSU. 4
“We could never get into our ]
transition game,” DeForge said. “It “ \
is a different style of play for us. J
When that happens, you have to
counter and make key plays at key -v
times.” 4j
NU made a key 9-2 run in the j
final five minutes of the first half.
DeForge and Tina McClain led the ^
Nebraska charge cutting the defi
cit to 25-23 at halftime.
“That run changed the game
right there,” Kansas State Coach
Deb Patterson said.
The Wildcats (8-5, 1-2) came
back in the second half to take a
41-39 lead with 8:55 remaining,
but the Huskers adjusted and took
control with a 10-3 run in the next
sm minutes. KSU made one field
goal in the final 6:57.
“We made an adjustment to
their 2-3 zone and ran our regular
offense,” Beck said.
LaToya Doage, who scored 10
points, sealed the game from the
ffee-throw line. Doage, who was
shooting 58 percent from the line,
hit four straight in the final 1:29 to
ice the game.
The 53 points was the Huskers’
lowest offensive output this season.
DeForge said even though the
offense struggled, the defense came
through once again.
“Our defense prevailed,”
DeForge said. “We forced a lot of
turnovers, that is a reflection of our
defense. The steals in the scContl
half sealed the game.”
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Staff Reporter
Kansas State Coach Tom Asbury
said his team prepared for it all week.
Aaron Swartzendruber, the Wild
cats’ third-leading
scorer, was sure
the team could
handle it.
But when
Nebraska applied
a 1-3-1 trapping
zone defense in
the second half of
itd 87-77 overtime
victory over KSU,
it was too much
for the Wildcats to handle.
“They really did a nice job with
their half-court trap,” Asbury said.
“We lost our poise against it, and we
couldn’t execute.
“That was the key to the game.”
The relentless half-court pressure
of the Huskers overwhelmed Kansas
State in the second half. The Wildcats
— who led NU by 18 points at half
time — scored only five points dur
ing the first 10 minutes after the break.
Nebraska, on the other hand, took
advantage of KSU’s confusion, ex
ploding for 22 points during that criti
cal stretch to put itself back in the ball
game.
“Their defense really stepped it
up,” Swartzendruber said. “They were
causing turnovers and getting the
loose balls. I guess we weren’t as ready
for the trap as we thought we were.”
The Huskers’ pressure defense left
the Wildcats feeling disorganized and
frustrated, Asbury said. That frustra
tion led to mental breakdowns by the
Wildcats, most notably at the foul line.
Kansas State converted on only 52
percent of their free-throw attempts in
the second half.
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goals and seven points in the first 10 minutes
of the second half, beginning a 22-5 run with
Moore’s dunk tip off a Lue miss. NU, which
trailed 44-24 with 2:13 to play in the first half,
trimmed the Kansas State lead to 48-37 two
minutes into the second half after a Larry Flo
rence free throw.
“We thought the main thing was to come
out and chip it down, one by one, and play good
defense,” Moore said. “We knew we were go
ing to come out and pick up the intensity.”
With 14:11 to play in the game, Cookie
Belcher drilled a pair of free throws to pull NU
within eight points. The true freshman guard
then took a fast break the length of the court,
converting an acrobatic layup to close KSU’s
lead to 53-47 and ignite the Devaney Center
crowd.
After a Wildcat timeout, the Huskers scored
the next five points, cutting the lead to one.
But Kansas State used a four-point run to re
gain control. The Cats built a six-point advan
tage at 60-54 with 9:13 left in the game, and
the two teams stayed within five points of each
other for the rest of regulation.
Nebraska senior Bernard Gamer, suspended
for four games since Dec. 31, nailed a 3-pointer
with 58 seconds left, cutting the KSU lead to
71-69. After a Marcus McCullough free throw,
Lue sank a 3 from the top of the key to tie the
game at 72 with 37 seconds remaining.
Kansas State then held the ball until the fi
nal seconds, but Aaron Swartzendruber mis
fired, and Lue’s 17-footer at the buzzer didn’t
fall, sending the game to overtime.
Lue, who returned to top form last Satur
day against Texas A&M after spraining his left
knee on Dec. 31, played the entire 45 minutes
Wednesday night. In overtime, he scored
Nebraska’s first six points and eight of the
Huskers’ 15.
Following a Chris Griffin foul on the open
ing tip of the extra period, Lue’s free throw
gave the Huskers a 73-72 lead, their first since
early in the first half. Two more Lue free throws
and a Lue 3-pointer assisted by Alvin Mitchell
put NU up 78-73. Kansas State never got closer
than four points the rest of the game.
“I really didn’t get tired too much,” Lue said,
(6
It just shows that we
don’t give up. This team
has heart, and we want
to win. We didn’t have
any doubts. ”
Mikki Moore
NU center
“except in the first half when they were kick
ing our butts. I just knew we were going to get
back into the game, but I didn’t know how we
were going to do it.”
In the first half, Kansas State used a 20-6
run, capped by a Mark Young 3-pointer 12
minutes into the game, to take a 27-14 lead.
Five minutes later, the Wildcats extended that
lead to 15 points on a jumper by McCullough,
a 6-5 junior who gave up a redshirt year on
Wednesday, playing for the first time this sea
son.
A six-foot jumper and a free throw by Ayome
May in the final 10 seconds of the half sent
KSU to the locker room with an 18-point lead.
“KSU beat us in every aspect of the game in
the first half,” Nee said, “and we did the same
to them in the second half. I felt Kansas State
came in and played at a very high level. I’m
really pleased that our kids didn’t quit.”
Young led the Wildcats with 20 points, and
Swartzendruber added 18 for KSU, which shot
just 24 percent after the first half.
Venson Hamilton scored 10 points and
grabbed 12 rebounds for Nebraska, Florence
contributed 12 points, and Belcher and Gamer
scored 10 apiece.
The Huskers play host to Missouri on Sat
urday night at 8:30 before facing six of eight
foes away from Lincoln.
: j. . . . , ' / -
Men and Women
of Nebraska
Calendar Contests
Enter now and see if you have what it takes
to be a calendar man or woman! All contes
tants will receive huge discounts at the fol
lowing sponsor’s location to get ready for
the competition:
Alternative Tan
Tips & Toes
Plus all contestants will receive
Limo rides to the contest. All entry forms
must be returned to any of the following
sponsors by February 5, 1997.
Official contest dates will be:
The Men's Calendar Contest
February 18th
•> February 25th
March 4th
The Women's Calendar Contest
»
