Huskers can't sustain rally in OT
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Aleks Maric was as dominant as he’s been all season. Nebraska’s big man seemed unstoppable in the second half.
Teammates were finding him with ease. He responded with ease.
An easy layup here, a putback for jam there. In one stretch, he scored 17 of Nebraska’s 19 points, helping the Huskers take a slice out of Missouri’s 13-point lead.
Nebraska, playing at home, was alive because of its lone senior, Maric.
Then, inexplicably, the Huskers forgot about their hot 6-foot-11 center when it mattered most.
In overtime.
Missouri scored the first nine points of the extra period, Maric didn’t touch the ball until the final seconds, and the Tigers won 86-78 before 8,014 fans Wednesday at the Devaney Sports Center.
“Aleks doesn’t touch the ball,” a perplexed Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said afterward. “Doesn’t touch the basketball.”
Why not?
“That’s my fault, I guess. We just didn’t get it to him. He was plenty open.”
Why did Maric — who scored a season-high 32 points and tied a season high with 16 rebounds — seem like the forgotten man in overtime?
“I don’t know,” said Maric, whose only shot attempt in overtime came when he rebounded a missed Cookie Miller free throw with 44 seconds left.
“It’s kind of strange how your mind works in situations like that. Sometimes the most basic and common thing is right in front of you, but you just don’t see it.
“I’m not saying I’m perfect, I’m saying everybody makes mistakes. I made some mistakes tonight too that cost us.”
What’s more, Missouri had two of its frontline players — DeMarre Carroll and Vaidotas Volkus — foul out in regulation.
Didn’t matter. Maric went unnoticed, and instead, the Huskers settled for jump shots. Missouri blocked a shot in the lane by 5-foot-11 guard Steve Harley, and forced Harley into turnovers two other times, helping the Tigers to a 9-0 run.
“I don’t know,” Harley said. “We should have got him (Maric) the ball. It was tough. The guard started pressuring more. They got into the basketball a little more, so we couldn’t feed it to him.”
Harley, who tied a career high with 16 points, sent the game into overtime by making two free throws with 5.1 seconds left. Jason Horton’s three-pointer from the left wing was short at the regulation buzzer.
Harley also had a three-pointer with 5:11 remaining in regulation that drew the Huskers to 61-60. It was Nebraska’s only field goal over the final 11:23 of regulation.
Nebraska, which trailed 47-34 with 17:55 to play, did much of its rallying at the free-throw line, where the Huskers were 23-of-33. But misses at key opportunities — Sek Henry missed two free throws to start overtime — had Sadler frustrated.
The second-year coach was even more upset with his team’s defense.
Missouri, which shot 48.3 percent, made 11 three-pointers, most of them open looks. Also, Missouri is only the third team to score more than 80 points on a Sadler-coached Nebraska team.
A variety of quick-trigger shots and turnovers propelled Missouri’s 20-2 run over the final six minutes of the first half, giving the Tigers a 41-30 halftime lead. Missouri scored 10 points in span of 1:30 when Paul Velander had a turnover and misfired on two quick three-point attempts.
“We hit some shots early,” Sadler said, “and I think we thought we were going to outscore people.”
Missouri (14-11, 4-6 Big 12 Conference) avenged a 66-62 loss to the Huskers in Columbia two weeks ago, when Missouri played without five suspended players.
Four of those players returned Wednesday, although most of the offensive damage was done by two players who played the first time. Keon Lawrence had 19 points, and J.T. Tiller scored 14.
The loss, Nebraska’s third at home in Big 12 play, sends the Huskers to Iowa State on Saturday with a 3-6 league record, and 14-8 overall.
“It’s a low blow,” Maric said, “but as an athlete, you’ve got to keep your head up and keep going.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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