Stats & coverage � Box score

Jan. 18, 2003
 
Johnson Leads Huskers to Overtime Win Over Colorado
 
Lincoln – Nate Johnson’s 24 points led four Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska pulled out an 80-77 overtime victory against Colorado in front of 8,122 at the Devaney Center Saturday evening.

A 6-2 junior guard, Johnson scored 15 of his 24 points after halftime, and added six rebounds and three assists in 42 minutes. Nebraska improved to 9-7 on the season and picked up its first Big 12 win in three league contests, while Colorado dropped to 11-5 and 1-2.

Johnson, who had missed a shot at the buzzer in Wednesday’s 53-52 loss to Texas A&M, sent tonight’s game into overtime, nailing a short jumper off the glass with 7.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 68. Colorado had one final shot to win in regulation, but Michel Morandais’ short jumper missed with two seconds left, sending the game into an extra period.

The lead went back and forth in the extra session, as the teams traded the lead eight times in the five minute extra period. Sophomore John Turek gave Nebraska the lead for good, hitting a layup to give the Huskers a 77-76 advantage with 49.3 seconds left

Turek hit 7-of-9 shots from the floor, finishing with 16 points, two off his season high set last month in a win over IPFW. The 6-foot-9 center from Council Bluffs, Iowa, also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a pair of shots in the win.

Trailing 79-77, CU had a chance to tie the game with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, but Lamar Harris missed both foul shots, and Corey Simms pulled down the defensive board after the second miss. Simms added a foul shot for the final margin, as the Buffaloes were unable to attempt a final shot as Turek deflected the inbounds pass at the buzzer.

The Huskers also got strong performances from junior Andrew Drevo, who totaled 18 points and eight rebounds, and senior guard Brennon Clemmons, who finished with a season-high 11 points and six rebounds.

The overtime capped a wild game that saw 16 lead changes and 15 ties, as neither team led by more than five points after halftime. NU built its largest lead of the half at 55-50 on Turek’s turnaround jumper with 11:27 left in regulation, but CU scored the next six points, taking the lead on a Morandais jumper. The teams would battle back and forth throughout the final 10 minutes, as neither team led by more than three points down the stretch.

With the score tied at 66, Stephane Pelle blocked Clemmons’ layup, and Michel Morandais

picked up the loose ball and drove for a layup. An intentional foul was called on Simms and Morandais converted one foul shot to give CU a 67-66 lead. On the subsequent possession, Morandais split two more from the charity strip with 14.4 seconds left.

Morandis was one of four Buffaloes to finish in double figures, finishing with 18 points in the losing effort. Blair Wilson paced CU with 24 points, including four three-pointers.

David Harrison finished with a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, but was just 3-of-10 from the floor before fouling out with 1:33 left in regulation. Glean Eddy chipped in 11 points off the bench for CU.

The Huskers got off to a quick start in the first half, hitting eight of their first 12 shots from the floor to build a 20-10 advantage in the first eight minutes. Turek led the charge, hitting his first five shots, topping his season average of 7.1 ppg, scoring all 10 of his first-half points in the game’s first minutes.

Colorado came right back, using a 10-0 run of its own to tie the game at 20, as Lamar Harris came off the bench to spark the run with six straight point. From that point, the game saw four lead ties in the rest of the half before Pelle’s driving hoop with one second left before the intermission gave the Buffaloes a 34-32 halftime lead.

Next week, the Huskers hit the road for a pair of games, traveling to Kansas State (Jan. 22) and Iowa State (Jan. 25) before returning home to the Devaney Center on Wednesday, Jan. 29, to take on No. 11 Missouri ay 7:05 p.m.

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Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.