Stats & coverage � Box score

Jan. 15, 2003
 
Huskers Fall to Aggies in Defensive Battle, 53-52
 
Lincoln - Nebraska erased a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes before Bernard King hit the game-winning bucket with 1:01 remaining to give Texas A&M a 53-52 win over the Huskers in front of 6,387 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Wednesday evening.

King, who had had made just 4-of-17 from the floor, finished with a game-high 18 points after hitting a driving lay-up to give the visitors the lead for good, spoiling a comeback by the Huskers.

NU, which fell to 8-7 and 0-2 in the Big 12, had two chances to win in the final minute including one in the waning seconds. Trailing by one, King missed a jumper, and Nate Johnson pulled down the rebound, giving the Huskers a final opportunity with 11.6 seconds remaining. Johnson could not convert as the 6-2 junior guard’s attempt bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded, giving the Aggies the win.

Trailing 49-39 with 6:43 remaining, the Huskers went on an 11-0 run, as Johnson scored six points in the spurt, including an off-balance jumper that gave the Huskers their first lead of the half at 50-49 with 2:08 remaining. After a pair of King foul shots gave A&M the lead, Corey Simms put NU ahead tby hitting a driving baseline layup with 1:15 left before King’s bucket gave Texas A&M a lead it would not relinquish.

Johnson, who was just 5-of-15 from the floor, was one of three Huskers to finish in double figures. Junior Andrew Drevo led NU with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Simms finished with 10 points in the loss.

For Texas A&M, which improved to 9-4 overall and 1-1 in the league, King was joined in double figures by freshman Antoine Wright, who finished with 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers.

Behind the sharp shooting of Drevo, the Huskers and Aggies battled through most of the first half, as neither team could build more than a three-point lead through 14 minutes of the half. Drevo scored 11 points and seven rebounds in a half that saw four ties and eight lead changes.

The Huskers built their largest lead of the game at 23-19 on a three-pointer by Johnson at the 5:46 mark, but the Aggies responded with an 11-1 spurt of their own to build a 31-24 lead. Wright, who triggered the run with a pair of three pointers, and King combined for 10 points, as NU was held without a field goal for a stretch of 4:10. A basket by Corey Simms ended the Aggie run, while Johnson cut A&M’s lead to 31-28 at halftime.

For the second straight game, the Huskers, who shot a season-low 33 percent, came out of halftime cold, missing their first eight shots from the field. Texas A&M used a 9-1 run to build a 40-29 lead before Brennon Clemmons’ three-pointer ended the 7:38 dry spell for the Huskers.

Clemmons, who scored a career-high 23 points in the win at College Station last season, and Simms rallied the Huskers back, scoring 10 points in a 10-1 NU run, trimming the Aggie lead to 41-39 on Clemmons’ putback with 8:39 remaining. Wright then scored the Aggies next five points on a three-pointer from the wing and a layup before Tomas Ress knocked down his third three-pointer of the game, bumping the Aggie lead to 49-39 lead with 6:43 remaining.

The Huskers continue their two-game homestand on Saturday, Jan.18, when Colorado visits for a 7:05 p.m. tip-off.

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Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.