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By Joshua Camenzind
———-’V ■■■—-- -
Staff writer
At halftime of its 81-72 victory over
Kansas State on Saturday, the Nebraska
men’s basketball team went into the
locker room feeling very lucky to still
be within reach of the Wildcats.
The Cornhuskers were being out
rebounded 23-12 and out-shot 55.6 per
cent to 34.5 percent
But the Huskers were only down
three points, 37-34, and turned up the
defensive intensity in the second half to
stifle the KSU attack in front of 9,083
fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
“I feel Kansas State came and shot
the ball as well as they can shoot it,” said
NU Coach Danny Nee, who tied the
school’s career-coaching victories mark
with 253. “I thought we took a heavy
blow from them in the first half.
“They were live, they were
' rebounding and played extremely well.
We were very fortunate to be in the
game.”
Nebraska, which improved to 10-10
overall and 3-4 in the Big 12
Conference, led only once in the first
half at 2-0, and sloppy play by both
teams ensued.
KSU Guard Galen Morrison, who
lit up NU for 27 points in their first
meeting, did not start, but came off the
bench to score 12 points in 10 minutes.
He shot 4 of 4 from 3-point range in the
first half, keeping NU at arm’s reach.
But Nebraska’s guards clamped
down on Morrison and Cortez Groves.
Groves, the Wildcats’ leading scorer,
HUSKERS 81
Wildcats 72
shot 6 of 17 for 17 points in the game.
Matt Davison, who first suited up
for the Huskers on Jan. 12, started for
the first time in place of Rodney Fields,
who had been bothered by a leg injury,
but did see 10 minutes of action off the
' bench.
The rotation of four guards enabled
Nee to implement pressure on the
Wildcat guards.
“We are just going to do different
things,” Nee said. “I have such a respect
for Morrison, and he was such a factor
in the game that we had to guard him by
platoon to wear him out” .
The Huskers, on the other hand,
ended their shooting funk after half
time, and NU grabbed die lead at 44-43
on a Larry Florence jumper. The
Huskers slowly extended their lead to
12 at 67-55 with 6:37 remaining on a
Steffon Bradford free throw.
Nebraska would reach that plateau
twice more before the Wildcats cut the
lead down to six with 1:47 remaining.
Danny Walker made a layup on the
ensuing possession and, after KSU
Guard Morrison missed a 3-pointer,
free throws decided the final score.
Florence was one of six Huskers in
double figures, a group led by Walker
with 16 points.
“We just shot the ball better in the
second half and we just kept going,”
Nee said. “I thought our defense on the
perimeter was the best it was all sea
son.
'i * ^ Mike Wurrcn uN
NU GUARD Rodney Fields (right) fights for the ball with Kansas State guard Cortez Groves in the second half at the
Devaney Center. NU defeated the Wildcats 81-72 on Saturday night. Fields played a key role in shutting down
Groves, KSU’s leading scorer. Groves finished the game at 6-of-17 shooting.
' ' ; •• • ' ‘ \ •*' !*'•* Sx$'.'r. • .. VrJST*- •" • ~'Tr" - r\\. 1 • - r . '•
Eric Eshbach makes a vault at the track and field dual meet between Nebraska and Oklahoma Saturday. Eshbach
set a school record and tied for first in the nation with a vault of 18 feet and one-half inches. The vault was one ?
of eight NCAA provisional marks the Hnskers made Saturday. '5V]
.. y* r > ' - 1 ' * t
Eschbach sets school record at meet
By Jamie Suhr
Staff writer
In only the third meet of his col
lege career, freshmaii Erie Eshbach
rewrote the standard of pole vaulting
at Nebraska. V .
Eshbach cleared a height of 18
feet, one-half inch, easily a school
record, at the NU-Oklahoma dual
meet Saturday at the Devariey Sports
Center track. The mark also ranks No.
1 in the nation so far this season.
“The school record is not that big
of a deal, I think,” Eshbach said. “At
this point, this early in the season,
winning means more to me than
breaking the record.”
After gaining the record, Eshbach
attempted to reach 18-4 Vi, the quali
fying mark for the Olympic Trials,
but came up short.
Eshbach has qualified already for
nationals by vaulting 17 feet, 8 V2
inches at the 2000 Pole Vault Sumniit
in Reno, Nev. on Jan. 22.
While the freshman stood out
among the Huskers, others also did
well in the dual with the Sooners in
front of a crowd of 969. Originally,
North Carolina was to attend the
meet, but travel complications pre
vented UNC’s arrival.
Shawn Kologinzack, a sopho
more high jumper, had the best meet
of his collegiate career, clearing 7-3,
a provisional qualifying mark, on his
third attempt at the height.
Kologinzack narrowly missed the
automatic mark of 7-4 l/2 on his sec
ond attempt when his feet clipped the
bar.
A positive attitude was the key
breakthrough, said Kologinzack, who
must fill the shoes of former All
American High Jumper Shane Lavy.
. “Confidence was key for me,”
Kologinzack said “I know I can get
that national qualifying mark. It was
disappointing not to get it.”
Shot-putter Carl Myerscough
returned to competition after spend
ing part of the week in the hospital for
food poisoning by throwing 62 feet, 1
% inches, a provisional mark.
Myerscough has already qualified for
the national meet.
Other NCAA qualifying times in
the dual included Natalie Dennison, a
freshman pole vaulter, who cleared
12 feet, ohe-half inch, a personal
bCst; Janet Dutton, a high jumper,
Who cleared a personal best 5 feet, 11
% inches and Emily Waibel, who ran ;
an 8.40 in the 60-meter hurdles.
- Husker Jumper Dalhia Ingram
swept both the long jump and the
triple jump, with an impressive 42-9
' •‘A mark in die triple jump. Ingram
credited the jumps to getting on the
start board;*
"On the other two finals jumps, she i
was behind it.
NU travels to Kansas State this 7
weekend for a triangular with the l
—WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Kubik pulls Huskers
through Cats’ charge
By John Gaskins_ --
Staff writer WILDCATS_61
Several times throughout their in foul trouble, the seniors carried
Sunday game against Nebraska, the NU on their backs.
Kansas State women’s basketball Kubik scored 19 of her season
team appeared to have the Huskers high 26 points and hit all four of her
thrown off guard. 3-point attempts in the second half.
But not even a crowd of 7,680 Her final 3 gave NU a 62-54 lead
jacked-up Wildcat fans at Bramlage with just over three minutes left.
Coliseum, a depleted NtJ roister and sealing a hard-fought win in a game
an inspired KSU team coming off a that saw 14 lead changes and seven
near-victory at No. 6 Iowa State, ties.
xuesuay iiigin couiu
shake the road-test
ed Huskers.
Seniors Nicole
Kubik, Charlie
Rogers and Brooke
Schwartz provided
the answer to every
KSU attempt to
break away from
NU in the second
»half- aid led the
Huskers to their
fourth straight vic
tory, 68-61.
Nebraska (11-7
*. I thought
our senior
class stepped
up and showed
how to win on
the road ”
Paul Sanderford
NU Coach
K.-Mate lea
32-29 at halftime
but saw their last
lead wiped away
when Rubik hit a
3 at the 7:22 mark
to put the Huskers
up 51-50. After
Schwartz’ lay-up
and a RSU free
throw made it 53
51, Rubik drained
another 3 that put
NU up 56-51.
Rogers-who
played with a
ana mine Big
12 Conference) improved to 5-3 on
the road and continued to build con
fidence heading into its showdown
against No. 6 Iowa State in Lincoln
Wednesday night. They also
avenged a, 79-67 loss to the Cats (9
11, 2-6) in Manhattan, Kan., last
year.
“This was a huge win, one we
desperately needed,” Sanderford
said. “ItIs tough to win on the road
in the Big 12; I thought our kids
showed a lot of poise today ”
; With key freshman contributors
Stephanie Jones, Shahidrah Roberts
and Paige Sutton out with injuries
and junior center Casey Leonhardt
bronchial virus -
earned her sixth double-double of
the season, scoring 12 points and
grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.
Schwartz scored 11 points and
dished out seven assists.
“I thought 'our senior class
stepped up and showed how to win
on the road,” NU Coach Paul
Sanderford said. “Nicole was huge
today. She knocked down shots
when we needed them, and we
needed team.
“Charlie Rogers was huge in the
second half. She was sick. We had
to give her cough syrup at halftime.
It’s a good thing, because we didn’t
have anybody else.”
IIt goes from God to Jerry to Kent
to the cleaners to the Daily Nebraskan