Archive for 'NIT Game Recap'
Nebraska drops first round NIT game to New Mexico
March 18, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under NIT Game Recap, News.
Nebraska’s basketball season came to an end in Albuquerque, NM last night. The New Mexico Lobos beat the Huskers 83-71 to send Doc Sadler’s club back to Lincoln to ponder how far they had come and wonder what could have been. NU’s offense struggled yet again, while NMU’s offense was clicking behind 51% shooting from the floor and a career night from Daniel Faris who finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
By scoring 83 points against the Huskers, the Lobos join only Hawaii, Kansas and Missouri in scoring 80 or more points against NU since Doc Sadler took over. New Mexico was the only team to strike for 80 points this season against the Big Red. To say that Nebraska’s defense had on off-night would be an understatement.
Nebraska was led by Sek Henry’s 13 points and Steve Harley’s 11 points. Ade Dagunduro had a tough shooting night. He scored only 8 points and battled through foul trouble. The Huskers finish the season at 18-13 overall.
Turning point in the game:
- NU was struggling in the first half, but rallied to trail by 5 at halftime. Unfortunately, the Huskers came out cold in the second half and the Lobos took advantage going on a 17-3 run to build their biggest lead of the game, 19 points. As they have all year, Nebraska refused to give up and fought back to close within 7 with just under 2 minutes left. That’s as close as they’d get as New Mexico shut the door on the comeback.
Encouraging points:
- Though this loss is disappointing there is no denying that this Nebraska team played as close to their potential as any Nebraska team has before it. To have the season they did with the smallest roster in Division I basketball is impressive.
With the season over, the Husker seniors (Dagunduro, Harley, Velander, Krenk) can take heart in the fact that they’ve laid a strong foundation for this program. That foundation includes giving maximum effort, playing tough defense and never giving up. These are the type of ideals that should make every Nebraska basketball fan proud.
Up next: the 2008-09 Husker season is over. I’ll be putting together a season recap soon.
