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basketball Edit

Second-half surge leads Huskers to 82-71 win over Washington St.

In its first game against live competition away from Pinnacle Bank Area since its summer trip to Italy, Nebraska got its week off to a good start on Monday in the Cayman Islands Classic.

After trailing by three at the half, the Huskers got rolling and never looked back in the second half for an 82-71 win over Washington State.

Senior Haanif Cheatham led the way with a season-high 19 points while junior Jervay Green added 16 and eight rebounds, as NU led by as many as 16 while shooting a blistering 64 percent from the field and hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers after halftime.

Despite Cheatham, Green, and point guard Cam Mack all playing in foul trouble for most of the second half, Nebraska used aggressive defensive intensity to fluster WSU’s shooters and create fast tempo on offense.

With the win, the Huskers improved to 3-2 on the season and advanced to play George Mason in the second round of the tournament on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Nebraska turned a three-point halftime deficit into an 11-point victory in the first round of the Cayman Islands Classic on Monday night.
Nebraska turned a three-point halftime deficit into an 11-point victory in the first round of the Cayman Islands Classic on Monday night. (Associated Press)
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“I thought we came out with great defensive intensity in the second half,” NU head coach Fred Hoiberg said on the Husker Sports Network postgame radio show. “I thought our guys made a great adjustment. They did a great job of going out and executing our plan.”

Nebraska got off to a strong start by scoring its first six points coming on layups and eventually getting out to a 20-14 lead a little less than seven minutes into the game.

Washington quickly responded with a 10-0 run and took a six-point lead of its own at 37-31 with two minutes left in the first half. The Huskers chipped away and pulled back within 37-34 at the half, but they left plenty of need for improvement going into the break.

While NU shot a solid 43.8 percent from the field and made 4-of-11 from behind the arc, it was again dismal at the free-throw line (2-for-7) and got out-rebounded 25-17 for a 14-0 disadvantage in second-chance points.

Nebraska battled back at reclaimed the lead at 41-40 on a banked 3-pointer by Green to start the second half and then went on a 13-2 run to take its biggest advantage yet at 49-42 with just under 14 minutes to go.

The Huskers would go on to make 11 of 12 shots from the field at one point and took full control of the game after a free throw by Green made it 78-62.

“It was great,” Green said of the second-half turnaround. “We started off real slow, but once again, after we got the rebound, they couldn’t run with us. So that was real good.”

Washington State was able to cut the lead down to 10 with just under a minute to play, but that was as close as it would get.

Dachon Burke and Kevin Cross both finished with 14 points, while Mack added 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. CJ Elleby, who came in averaging 23 points per game, led Washington State with a game-high 27, but only one other Cougar scored in double figures.

“We did think if we could rebound the ball, we’d have opportunities to get out and run, and that’s what happened,” Hoiberg said.

3-POINT PLAY

1. Look what happens when you rebound and make free throws

Nebraska once again got beaten up at its two biggest weak points in the first half, as Washington State dominated the boards and took advantage of awful free-throw shooting by the Huskers to take the lead at halftime. But NU was able to make marked improvements in both of those areas in the second half, and by no coincidence, it quickly took over the game. Nebraska actually out-rebounded WSU 24-19 in the second half, making it a manageable 44-41 disadvantage for the night. The Huskers also started the second half making 7 of their first eight from the charity stripe (though they finished by missing four of their final 10 attempts). When NU can at least keep those two areas from being total liabilities, it’s amazing how much better it can be.

2. Cheatham is finding his role

For a guy whom Hoiberg tabbed as Nebraska’s clear vocal leader, Cheatham’s production through the first four games was relatively quiet. While he did drop 17 points in the win over South Dakota State, that served as the fifth-year senior’s lone double-digit scoring effort and the only game in which he even took more than five shots. But the former Florida Gulf Coast/Marquette transfer stepped up in a big way on Monday night, being aggressive and assertive on both ends of the floor and posting his best all-around performance of the young season. On top of his game-high 19 points, Cheatham was 8-of-10 from the field, hauled in seven rebounds, drew five fouls, and had a plus-18 player rating.

3. The killer instinct needs to improve

Yes, Nebraska flipped a switch at halftime and completely took the game over in the second half. But the 11-point victory should have been even more lopsided had the Huskers not taken their foot off the gas pedal over the final minutes. One of Hoiberg’s biggest complaints after the game was that he felt his team got “too casual” and “careless” on both ends after taking a 16-point lead. Washington State was able to chip the lead down to 10 with a minute left, and while it was too little, too late, it made the game closer than it needed to be. The worst example was a technical foul called on Mack with 53 seconds remaining. After missing the first of two free throws, Mack went to high-five his teammates, but no other Huskers were even on that end of the floor. Mack then jokingly tried to high-five a Washington State player, which the referee didn’t like one bit. It didn’t change the outcome, but there has to be better focus to close games out than that.

THEY SAID IT

“We talk to our team about the teams that win these games, especially the first one, is the team that plays harder and with more effort. I thought we did a good job of that tonight.”
— Head coach Fred Hoiberg on his message to the Huskers after winning the first of three games in three days.
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