January 20, 2015

----------------------------- 
             1   2   total 
Minnesota   25  24    49 
NEBRASKA    24  28    52 
----------------------------- 

Lincoln, Neb. — Shavon Shields scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while Nebraska withstood a trio of 3-point attempts in the final seconds to hold on for a 52-49 victory over Minnesota Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Shields led the Huskers (11-7, 3-3 Big Ten) with 15 points, including 7-of-11 from the foul line, and added seven rebounds and three steals to lead a pair of Huskers in double figures. Terran Petteway added 11 points and five rebounds, as Nebraska held Minnesota (12-8, 1-6 Big Ten) to just 31 percent shooting, including 29 percent in the second half.

After Benny Parker hit a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to give the Huskers a 52-49 lead, Minnesota got a good look for Andre Hollins, who led all scorers with 21 points, who missed the initial shot before Carlos Morris and DeAndre Mathieu missed attempts in the waning seconds, giving Nebraska a three-point win.

The Huskers, who were shaky from the line in the first 34 minutes, were at their best down the stretch, hitting 11 of their final 12 shots from the line, including a perfect 6-of-6 from Parker and 5-of-6 from Shields. In all, NU went 14-of-21 from the line, compared to just 9-of-19 from Minnesota.

The strong foul shooting and solid efforts off the bench from Tarin Smith, Leslee Smith and Tai Webster held offset the fact that NU did not hit a field goal in the final eight minutes.

Nebraska fell behind 28-24 after a Joey King 3-pointer in the opening possession of the second half before Petteway took over. The junior scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer to give NU a 29-28 lead. The lead would go back and forth before a key 6-0 spurt from its bench gave the Huskers the lead for good.

With the score tied at 33, the duo of Leslee Smith and Tarin Smith helped Huskers take control of a close game, as the pair scored six straight in the run, capped by Leslee finding Tarin for a nifty layup to give NU a 39-33 lead with 10:22 left.

Webster helped limit Hollins to 2-of-10 shooting from the floor in the second half, including 0-for-4 from 3-point range.

Minnesota came right back and closed to within two at 39-37 before Shields ended the run with foul line with 8:01 left to push the lead back to four. The Gophers would pull within one on a couple of occasions, including 43-42 before Nebraska used a 5-0 run from the foul line to push it back to six, at 48-42, with 2:55 left.

Trailing 50-44 with 1:41 left, the Gophers would not go away, as a basket from Hollins and a 3-pointer from Morris with 36 seconds left made it a one-point game at 51-50, setting up a frantic final half minute.

In the first half, the Huskers held Minnesota to 33 percent shooting, but Hollins' 13 first-half points staked the Gophers to a 25-24 halftime lead.

Nebraska got off to a blistering start, hitting four of its first six shots from the field, including 3-of-4 from long range, taking a 11-4 lead after Petteway's second 3-pointer of the half. The Huskers built the lead to eight on a pair of occasions, the last being at 18-10 with 7:13 left in half after a Walter Pitchford 3-point play.

Pitchford was a force on the glass, collecting a season-high 11 rebounds, and helped limit Maurice Walker to four points on 2-of-8 shooting.

Minnesota responded with an 11-2 spurt of their own, as Hollins, who scored 13 of the Gophers' first 21 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the run, the last giving the visitors their first lead of the game at 21-20. Nebraska regained the lead on Shields' first basket of the night before buckets by Joey King and Carlos Morris gave Minnesota its largest lead of the half at 25-22 with 2:09 left I the half. The Huskers pulled within one after a Leslee Smith offensive board and putback with 1:34 left in the half.

The Huskers return to action Saturday afternoon, as they host Michigan State at 3 p.m. The game will be carried on ESPN and the Husker Sports Radio Network.