No. 23 Texas A&M holds off Nebraska
March 11, 2010
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—Nebraska missed its chance to make some history at theBig 12 tournament.
Donald Sloan scored 23 points, Bryan Davis had a key three-point play at the1:01 mark and No. 23 Texas A&M stopped the upset-minded Cornhuskers 70-64 in aclose and cleanly contested quarterfinal Thursday.
Nebraska, trailing all game while trying to become the first No. 12 seed towin two Big 12 games, got close in the final minutes but Sloan and KhrisMiddleton hit big shots to keep the Huskers at bay.
“We really executed against the zone late,” Aggies coach Mark Turgeonsaid. “Wish our defense would have been a little bit better down the stretch.”
After Nebraska cut the lead to 62-58 with 1:35 left on Sek Henry’s3-pointer, Davis managed to get behind the Nebraska defense for a layup, wasfouled by Jorge Brian Diaz and made the free throw.
In Friday’s semifinals, the Aggies (23-8) get a rematch with No. 1 Kansas,which beat them last month 59-54.
“I think our guys are ready,” Sloan said. “We’re prepared.”
Nebraska (15-18), which won only two of 16 regular-season conference gamesbut beat No. 5 seed Missouri in the first round, will sit out the NCAAtournament for the 12th straight season.
But coach Doc Sadler pointed to his team’s hard-fought games in thetournament as evidence of a spirit and heart that belies its record.
“I hear stories that athletics is supposed to teach you lifelong lessons.If that’s the case, then these guys are going to be very, very successful peoplebecause their character is unbelievable.”
Ryan Anderson had 16 points for the Huskers, Diaz 14 and Sek 13.
Middleton had 17 for the fourth-seeded Aggies, including two key free throwswith 28 seconds to go after Brandon Richardson’s two free throws had cut thelead to 66-62.
About midway through the second half, Sloan’s free throw gave the Aggies aseemingly comfortable 49-36 advantage. But Lance Jeter scored four quick pointsand the Huskers went on an 11-0 run, slicing the lead to 49-47 when Andersonmade a 3-pointer at the 9:02 mark.
After an A&M timeout, Sloan’s basket stopped the drought and a few minuteslater, B.J. Holmes’ 3-pointer made it 54-49.
Sloan’s 3-pointer put the Aggies on top 57-53 after the Huskers, trailing by13 in the second half, cut it to 54-51 on two straight baskets by Diaz, their6-foot-11 freshman.
“I was in the flow of the game knowing we needed something big,” Sloansaid. “It feels good when you make it, but had I missed—totally differentstory.”
Sadler agreed it was a clutch shot.
“He stepped up and made that play,” he said. “You’ve got to give himcredit. Was it big? It was huge. But he made the shot.”
Anderson hit a basket for Nebraska, cutting the lead to 57-55. ThenMiddleton made a 3-pointer, Sloan rebounded Anderson’s missed 3-pointer and cameback and dropped in a layup for a 62-55 advantage.
“Sloan hit a big 3, just a huge 3,” Turgeon said. “And Khris hit a big 3also. We really executed against the zone (defense) late.”
The Aggies, headed for a school-record fifth straight NCAA tournamentappearance, scored the game’s first eight points and never trailed even thoughthe Huskers shot 50 percent.
Sloan, with 12 points in the first half, made a 3-pointer for an 8-0 leadwhich reached 27-15 before A&M settled for a 37-28 halftime advantage on Sloan’s3-pointer just before the buzzer.
Richardson who had 19 points in the victory over Missouri, played just 9minutes in the first half and did not even take a shot. He got his first pointson a 3-pointer early in the second half and finished with four points.