 Petteway |  Pitchford |  Shields |
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1 2 total
Ohio 30 28 58
NEBRASKA 32 39 71
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Petteway picked up his second double-double of the year with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Shields added 22 points, including 13 in the second half, but it was the Huskers' role players who made big contributions for Nebraska, which ended non-conference play with an 8-4 record.
Senior David Rivers grabbed a career-high 13 boards - the most by a Husker in two seasons - and adding eight points, while Walter Pitchford and Tarin Smith combined for 16 points, including 13 in the second half, to help the Huskers pull away down the stretch.
The Huskers continued to play strong defense, holding Ohio (4-6) to 38 percent shooting and out-rebounding the Bobcats, 39-28.
The first half was game of runs, as every time Nebraska would extend the lead, Ohio came back as NU took a two-point lead at the break, at 32-30. Nebraska held Ohio to 32 percent, but the Bobcats stayed in the game by going 9-of-11 from the foul line.
Nebraska got going early, hitting their first four shots of the field to take a 10-2 lead after a Benny Parker 3-pointer just 1:59 in the game. Ohio pulled to within 12-9, but the Huskers went on an 8-2 run keyed by the hustle of Rivers, as he had an offensive putback and found Shields for a layup to give the Huskers a 20-11 lead.
A tough call on Shields turned the momentum. Shields, who had nine early points for NU, missed a dunk and was called for hanging on the rim. The technical started an 11-2 Ohio run as the Bobcats tied the score at 22 after a basket by Treg Setty with 6:08 left in the half.
Petteway, who had 13 points and eight rebounds in the first half, keyed an 8-0 Husker spurt, as Nebraska took a 30-22 lead after a putback by David Rivers with 2:50 left that forced an Ohio timeout. The Bobcats rallied with eight straight points, capped by a 3-pointer from Javarez Willis with 36 seconds left in the half.
Willis led Ohio with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Maurice Ndour had 12 points on just 4-of-10 shooting.
On the final possession of the half, the Huskers run a play for Petteway, who was fouled a converted the free throws with 3.1 seconds left in the half. That play stared a 7-0 spurt, as Pitchford's 3-pointer and two Rivers free throws to extend the lead to 37-30.
Leading 41-39, Shields, who scored 13 of his 22 points after halftime, had six points in a 14-6 surge that gave the Huskers a double-digit lead at 55-45 lead after a pair of Petteway free throws with 9:15 left. Ohio, as it did for most of the afternoon, fought back as 3-pointers from Antonio Campbell and Treg Setty made it 57-53 with 8:00 left.
Pitchford, who scored all nine of his points in the second half, ended the run with a long jumper before Smith's steal and driving basket quickly pushed the lead back to 61-53. The Bobcats clawed to within 65-48 after Campbell's 3-pointer with 2:53 left, but would get no closer as the Huskers held Ohio to one field goal in the final five minutes before Shields put the game away. The 6-foot-7 junior hit a jumper to push the lead to nine before delivering the dagger, a 3-pointer from the wing with 44 seconds left to make it a 12-point game.
The Huskers will return to the mainland tonight and will have a couple of days off before getting ready for the Big Ten opener against Indiana on New Year's Eve. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. and a limited number of tickets are available at Huskers.com. The game will be carried on the Big Ten Network and the IMG Husker Sports Network.
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