Quantcast HuskerMax

  
 
Stats & coverage
Box score
LJS
OWH
BBS
HL
NSP
DN
Texas A&M
Photos
LJS
OWH
Huskers.com
Video
LJS
OWH
Huskers.com
Jan. 29, 2011
 
Aggies fall in Lincoln.
 
Lincoln — Lance Jeter and Brandon Richardson combined for 18 of Nebraska's 33 second-half points as the Huskers overcame a seven-point halftime to upset No. 13 Texas A&M, 57-48, in front of a crowd of 11,101 at the Deavney Center on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 42-39 with 8:30 remaining, the Husker duo sparked the Husker offense to a 12-3 run that gave Nebraska the lead for good. Two Jeter baskets surrounded by a Jorge Brian Diaz basket gave Nebraska (15-5, 3-3 Big 12) a 45-42 lead. The Aggies (17-3, 4-2 Big 12) pulled to with two at 45-43, but a layup by Jeter and four points from Richardson gave the Huskers six-point lead, at 51-45 with 3:06 remaining.

Texas A&M made one last run and pulled to within 51-48 with 1:43 remaining, but Eshaunte Jones came off the bench and delivered the dagger, a 3-pointer from the wing with 1:10 left. The Aggies, who made just three field goals in the final 9:55, missed a 3-pointer on their next possession and Diaz hauled in the rebound before Richardson converted a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left to extend the lead to eight.

The win over the 13th ranked Aggies marked the Huskers' highest-ranked win under Doc Sadler and the highest-ranked opponent Nebraska knocked off since 2006.

"It's huge - we're 3-for-3 in league play at home," Sadler said. "If you want a chance to compete in this league, you have to take care of home court. What can I say about the crowd? We wouldn't have won this basketball game if we didn't have a full house. You saw what happened when Lance (Jeter) made one or two plays, you can't hear. We're used to playing at home so we're comfortable and the opposing team is maybe a little bit less comfortable."

Jeter and Richardson finished with 10 points apiece, while Diaz totaled a game-high 16 points and five rebounds to place three players in double figures.

Nebraska shot 50 percent (12-of-24) in the second half and finished the game with a 44 percent shooting clip (21-of-48). The Aggies shooting woes in the second half put them at 39 percent for the game (18-of-46). After shooting just 38 percent and trailing, 31-24 at the break, Nebraska was able to chip away at A&M's lead behind Jeter and Richardson, while also using an impressive defensive effort that held the Aggies to only five field goals in the final 20 minutes (5-of-21). Diaz scored 10 of his 16 in the first half to keep Nebraska in the game early.

Diaz and Richardson hit the first two buckets of the second half, while Caleb Walker's 3-point play with 17:24 left brought NU within 34-31. After a Nathan Walkup 3-pointer, Jeter hit a pair of free throws and Richardson connected on a jumper, while Andre Almeida and Diaz hit back-to-back hook shots to give NU a 39-37 lead with 10 1/2 minutes remaining, its first lead since the Big Red held a slim 10-8 advantage in the first half.

The first half was back and forth, as Texas A&M used a 7-0 run to build a 16-10 lead before a Jones 3-pointer and a 3-point play from McCray tied the score at 16. Texas A&M, which shot 52 percent in the first half, including 4-of-8 from long range, used a 10-2 run to take a 29-21 lead after the second of Andrew Darko's 3-pointers and a free throw by Kourtney Roberson and took a seven-point lead into the break.

Nebraska is back on the road next week with a Wednesday night matchup at Kansas State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on the Big 12 Network.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.