Men's basketball scores blowout win after strong second half

 

It took 20 minutes, but when the Cornhuskers took over the role as the aggressor, they ran away with their first victory of the season.

Nebraska shot 61.5 percent from 3-point range in the second half, leading to a 76-49 blowout win to open the season against the South Carolina Upstate Spartans on Saturday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. USC Upstate was able to stick with NU for the majority of the first half with a pressure defense that forced nine first-half Husker turnovers.

“They completely dictated everything that we did, and we can’t allow that to happen,” NU coach Doc Sadler said. “I don’t know if it was because that was the first time we’ve seen that kind of pressure, but we’ve got to definitely be able to handle that better than what we did.”

Sadler said USC Upstate was the aggressor in the first half, and his team can’t afford to be so passive. The Spartans snatched up two loose balls, leading to open 3-point shots, the second of which cut Nebraska’s lead to 16-14.

“In the first half, we really let some balls go. That shouldn’t happen and probably won’t happen again,” NU point guard Lance Jeter said.

Jeter scored eight of his 14 points in the first half, including two layups in the final minutes that gave the Huskers a 31-24 halftime lead. A Ryan Anderson 3-pointer started the second half for Nebraska and extended the lead to 10. Consecutive threes by the Spartans’ Carter Cook brought the score to 34-30, but the Huskers took over from then on.

Freshmen Jorge Brian Diaz and Brandon Ubel scored the next seven points, and a tip slam by Toney Mc Cray brought the Husker crowd to its feet. Sadler said the last five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half have been a focus for his team at practice.

“It’s so critical,” Sadler said. “I think that’s the area that we played pretty well in.”

The Huskers received production up and down the lineup, as well. Ubel joined Jeter as the other starter in double figures with 12 points. Eshaunte Jones and Toney McCray combined for 22 points off the bench, both going 2-3 from long range.

“When we spread the ball around and people are stepping up that are supposed to step up, it’s going to be very hard to defend us,” Jeter said.

Anderson recorded six of NU’s 12 steals, a career high and the most by a Husker since 2001. Anderson compared the change in the team’s play between the two halves to a boxing match.

“In the first round, you have the jitters,” Anderson said. “The second round, you calm down, and you kind of know what’s going on a little bit.”

Nebraska lost 14 turnovers but finished the game on a 42-19 scoring run. Despite the early season mistakes, Sadler said he was pleased with the adjustments his team made in the final 20 minutes.

“When people are up there at you, skin to skin at 23 feet, you have a choice to make,” Sadler said. “You can either step back or you can step forward, and I thought more times than not in the second half, we stepped forward and got them a little bit on their heels.”

dougburger@dailynebraskan.com