Jayhawk Basketball Hangs On To Defeat Nebraska, 68-62
Jan. 28, 2009
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LINCOLN, Neb. –
Behind 17 points from junior Sherron Collins, the Kansas men’s basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Nebraska, 68-62, in front of a crowd of 11,407 fans at the Devaney Center Wednesday night.
KU picked up its 12th straight win against Nebraska as it improved to 16-4 on the season and 5-0 in Big 12 play. Nebraska lost its third game in a row as it dropped to 12-7 overall and 2-4 in the league.
Sophomore Brady Morningstar was the only other Jayhawk in double figures as he added 11 points in the victory. Fellow sophomore Cole Aldrich finished just shy of a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds, all in the second half.
Tyrel Reed hit just two shots all night but his points couldn’t have been timelier. The sophomore guard sank a three-point attempt with 6:37 left in the game to give Kansas a 51-50 edge over the Cornhuskers, KU’s second lead of the game. After a Nebraska turnover the next time down the court, Reed repeated with another basket from beyond the arc. KU held Nebraska to just one point over the next four and a half minutes, while the Jayhawks continued to expand its lead.
As the seconds ticked away it looked as though KU would escape with a comfortable win, but Nebraska hit back-to-back three-pointers with just over a minute left to come within one point at 63-62.
However, Sherron Collins went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of the game to seal the KU victory.
The Jayhawks shot over 50 percent from the field for the fifth straight game as they made 56.4 percent of their shots at NU.
Trailing 34-29 at half, Kansas regained the momentum in the start of the second period as Nebraska hit just one of its first 12 shots to open the second half allowing the Jayhawks to catch up. KU sank 4-of-9 from the field to knot the score at 40-40 following Markieff Morris’ basket and 1-for-2 effort at the free throw line.
Nebraska opened the game on a 6-0 run and the Jayhawks trailed for the rest of the half. KU was down by as much as 13 in the first 20 minutes, Down 34-25 with a minute left to play, Markieff Morris sank both of his free throw attempts. The Jayhawks then grabbed a defensive rebound on the opposite end of the court for the last possession of the half. With time expiring, Tyshawn Taylor faked a shot at the top of the key and sent a pass down low to Travis Releford who laid the ball in at the buzzer. Kansas trailed 34-29 at halftime, just the third time this season the Jayhawks were behind heading into the break.
Nebraska took advantage of 13 Kansas turnovers as it scored 15 of its first 34 points off KU miscues. Despite a season-high 21 turnovers by the Jayhawks, KU managed to outrebound the Cornhuskers 38-22 in the contest, its third largest rebound margin this season.
Kansas returns home to host Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.
