Huskers get in gear against Norfolk St.
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Shang Ping delivered a big fist pump after he swished a three-pointer in the second half.
Three-pointers from 6-foot-10 post players are probably reason for a little joy.
But Ping’s long-range shot, Nebraska’s season-high point total and the Huskers’ overall 50.9 percent shooting aren’t enough for men’s basketball coach Doc Sadler to declare this offense healthy.
“Offensively,” Sadler said, “we’re still not clicking.”
Nebraska used a big second half to defeat Norfolk State 83-48 before 5,235 fans at the Devaney Sports Center. It was the final tuneup for the 3-0 Huskers before Saturday’s game at intrastate rival Creighton.
As has been the case through two exhibition games and now three regular-season games, the Huskers put together one strong half and one not-so-strong half.
Nebraska led only 32-25 at halftime against Norfolk State (1-3) and didn’t lead by double digits until Ryan Anderson’s three-pointer with 17 minutes, 21 seconds remaining gave the Huskers a 37-27 lead.
Nebraska then turned to its defense, holding the Spartans without a field goal for an 8-minute stretch while building its lead to 21 points. The Huskers scored 51 points in the second half; it resulted in the Huskers’ most-lopsided victory under Sadler.
Norfolk State’s guard tandem of Tony Murphy and Corey Lyons entered Tuesday averaging a combined 36 points; Nebraska held Murphy to 3-of-15 shooting and nine points and Lyons to 12 points.
“We just had to pressure them,” said Nebraska guard Steve Harley, who had 11 points. “We knew they were two good guards. We knew we’d have our work cut out for us today.”
Nebraska held the Spartans to 26.8 percent shooting. Norfolk State, with its lone victory coming at Richmond, was playing its fourth straight road game to start the season.
Anderson and Ping scored 12 points apiece for Nebraska, which played 14 players, with 12 of them scoring.
One player who didn’t see much time was senior center Aleks Maric, who had nine points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes. He played only 6 minutes in the second half, resting as the game become lopsided.
Sadler said Ping, who also wowed the crowd with a drive from the three-point arc for an over-handed bank shot, had been struggling with confidence.
“Tonight was good for Ping,” Sadler said.
Sadler tweaked his starting lineup, going with Jay-R Strowbridge at point guard, in place of freshman Cookie Miller, and sophomore Sek Henry at shooting guard, in place of Strowbridge.
Miller, though, started the second half and logged more minutes than Strowbridge at point guard. Miller finished with five points, four assists, no turnovers and a steal. He also had two rebounds.
It’s rebounding, or lack thereof, that caused Sadler to mix his lineup. It didn’t produce the desired results. Norfolk State had a 38-37 rebounding edge and had 16 offensive boards
“Our guards have to rebound,” Sadler said.
As for the offense, Sadler said Tuesday was the first time Nebraska’s faced a traditional 1-3-1 zone defense. He pointed to the fact Nebraska works primarily against man-to-man defense in practices as a reason his team is still not humming on offense.
Sadler said he’s looking forward to seeing how his team responds on the road. Saturday’s game at Qwest Center Omaha will also be an upgrade in opposition.
“It’ll be fun,” Sadler said. “We need to be finding out where we’re going to be at.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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