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Monday, February 17, 1997

Nebraska soundly beats Longhorns

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska guard Tyronn Lue wasn't surprised that the Cornhuskers would soundly beat Big 12 South leader Texas only days after stumbling to last-place Kansas.

"It seems like we're able to get up for the good games. But the teams we're supposed to beat, it seems like we have a little trouble with focus and do not get up," Lue said Sunday after Nebraska beat Texas 79-67.

Lue scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half to help preserve the Huskers' victory.

"We had confidence we could come in and beat them on our home court," he said. "We knew if we played well and kept our turnovers down against their pressure defense, we should win at home."

Nebraska did just that, turning it over just 11 times while putting the defensive pressure on Texas star Reggie Freeman, who scored only 9 points after spending Saturday in the hospital with strep throat.

"I can't give enough credit to Reggie Freeman for even playing," said Texas coach Tom Penders.

Nebraska's Larry Florence, who guarded Freeman, said the strategy was to "lock up on him and make sure he did not touch the ball."

"He did not seem sick," Florence said. "We just did a great job of playing defense and not giving him any good shots."

Nebraska (14-11, 5-7 Big 12) led 19-10 midway through the first half. But Texas' Brandy Perryman scored 10 points during a 12-3 Longhorn spurt and tied the game 22-22 with a 3-pointer at the 5:03 mark.

Perryman finished with 20 points, tying a career high in Freeman's absence.

"We definitely needed somebody else to step up," Perryman said. "I came in thinking I needed to do some things."

The Huskers responded with a spurt of their own, mounting a 16-5 run that gave them a 38-27 halftime lead.

Texas (14-8, 8-4) chipped away at the Nebraska lead, cutting the advantage to 53-51 on Kris Clack's 3-point play with 8:56 remaining.

But Lue hit a 3-pointer on Nebraska's next possession to trigger a 10-2 Husker run that put Nebraska up 63-53 on Venson Hamilton's basket with 5:58 remaining. Texas never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Nebraska helped itself at the free-throw line, hitting 24 of 39 shots compared to 16 of 22 for Texas. Nebraska also outrebounded Texas 45-38.

"We played solid defense. It was a good quality win," said Nebraska coach Danny Nee. "It was a good game. You can sit here and interview five or eight of our guys. That's how it is in great games."

TEXAS (14-8) - Clack 1-3 2-2 4, Clark 1-5 0-0 2, Jordan 3-8 1-2 7, Vazquez 1-1 1-2 4, Freeman 1-10 7-8 9, Muoneke 0-2 0-0 0, Quarles 4-10 0-0 8, Perryman 7-16 2-2 20, Dixon 0-0 0-2 0, Coleman 4-8 3-4 13. Totals 22-63 16-22 67.

NEBRASKA (14-11) - Hamilton 6-8 8-13 20, Florence 6-11 1-2 13, Moore 1-2 2-2 4, Lue 7-15 7-8 22, Belcher 1-5 1-2 4, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Garner 2-8 2-4 7, Piatkowski 1-3 2-4 4, Markowski 2-3 1-4 5. Totals 26-55 24-39 79

Halftime-Nebraska 38, Texas 27. 3-Point goals-Texas 7-20 (Clack 0-1, Vazquez 1-1, Freeman 0-2, Perryman 4-11, Coleman 2-5), Nebraska 3-8 (Lue 1-2, Belcher 1-2, Garner 1-4). Fouled out-Clack, Perryman. Rebounds-Texas 38 (Freeman, Quarles 7), Nebraska 45 (Hamilton 11). Assists-Texas 14 (Freeman 7), Nebraska 12 (Lue, Belcher, Garner, Markowski 2). Total fouls-Texas 25. Nebraska 19. A-13,743. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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