Huskers shut down Savannah State
To Sek Henry, the most impressive part of Tuesday night’s game wasn’t that Nebraska led 26-2, or held Savannah State to a record-low 12 points in the first half.
The Husker sophomore guard was more satisfied that his team’s early lopsided margin stayed lopsided.
“Us playing very hard through the whole game really helps,” Henry said after Nebraska’s 82-37 men’s basketball victory before 5,116 fans at the Devaney Sports Center.
“I like the way we all just kept playing hard, and kept them away from coming back, because they played hard the whole game.”
So, too, did the Huskers. And many of them, at that.
Shang Ping scored 11 points to lead Nebraska, which emptied its bench early and played subs often. Twelve Huskers scored, including reserves Ben Nelson and Cole Salomon, who combined for 11 points.
No starter played more than 19 minutes for the Huskers, and nobody played more than 22. Aleks Maric, the only other player in double figures, had 10 points in 16 minutes.
Just the way it’s supposed to be against an out-manned foe.
“Obviously, we’re supposed to win these games,” Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said, “but at the same time, I don’t know that we would’ve played as many minutes earlier this year that we played tonight as well as we played.”
He pointed to the season opener against Presbyterian, when Nebraska led 43-16 at halftime, only to have the Blue Hose come back within 15 points, the game’s final margin.
Tuesday’s halftime score was 42-12. This time, the margin grew instead of shrunk.
“I think maybe we have shown a little progress,” Sadler said.
It’s the largest margin of victory under Sadler, in his second season, and also the fewest points allowed in his tenure. It’s the fourth-lowest point total by a Nebraska opponent in school history.
The 12 first-half points tied a building record for fewest in a half, set by three other Nebraska opponents, most recently by Morgan State three years ago.
The game wasn’t totally meaningless for Nebraska. The Huskers faced a full-court press and handled it better than they had in two previous games this season, both road losses. Nebraska combined for 43 turnovers in those games but had a mere 12 Tuesday.
“Just because somebody pressures you doesn’t give you the green light to just go down there and try to make a play,” Sadler said. “If you don’t have an uncontested shot, then you need to run some offense, and I thought we did that tonight.”
The Huskers (7-2) limited the Tigers to one field goal through nearly 14 minutes to begin the game. Nebraska scored the game’s first 13 points before the Tigers, who missed their first 10 field-goal attempts, scored with 13 minutes, 52 seconds remaining.
Savannah State’s second field goal came with 6:07 to go.
The Tigers avoided a Devaney Sports Center record for fewest points in a game when they scored with 9:09 remaining, making the score 62-27. Bethune-Cookman owns the all-time low with 26 points in a loss here in 2003.
Nebraska entered the game leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of 56 points per game. Savannah State was averaging 61 points. The Tigers (6-7) played Northwestern within 10 points 10 days ago on the road.
Nobody scored in double figures for the Tigers, who have nobody averaging in double figures. Savannah State shot 26.4 percent and had 21 turnovers.
Sadler lauded his team’s effort.
“They continue to give maximum effort, no matter who we’re playing against,” he said. “I thought, for the most part, we stayed committed to the game and played well.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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