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March 13, 2003
Mizzou ends Huskers' season, 70-61
Dallas -- Andrew Drevo recorded his sixth double-double of the year and the Huskers hit a season-high 10 three-pointers, but couldn't get over the top as Missouri hit 53 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away for a 70-61 victory over the Huskers in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men�s Basketball Tournament here Thursday. With the loss, Nebraska ends the season with an 11-19 record.
Nebraska started strong, running to a 10-2 lead in the first 2:20 of the contest. Sophomore John Turek started things off with a layup and junior Nate Johnson added a three-pointer just 24 seconds later to make it a 5-0 Husker advantage. Drevo scored the Huskers� next five points on a pair of free throws and a trey to put NU ahead by eight.
The Huskers extended the lead to 16 points over the next three minutes. Sophomore Corey Simms� three-pointer gave NU an 18-2 advantage as Nebraska hit five of its first nine shots from the floor. Defensively, NU held the Tigers to just two baskets over the first eight minutes of the opening half.
Nebraska pushed the lead to 18, 22-4, at the 12:21 mark of the first period on a Drevo jumper before the Tigers began to rally. Missouri clamped down on defense, holding the Huskers to 1-of-7 shooting over the next six minutes, to get back in the contest.
Guard Ricky Clemons hit a three-pointer to start the Tigers� rally. Clemons added another basket and Rickey Paulding contributed five points as MU went on a 15-2 run to cut the Huskers� advantage to 24-19. After Brian Conklin�s three-pointer put the Huskers up eight, 29-21, with 4:17 left before intermission, the Tigers scored 11 of the last 15 points of the period to go into the locker room down just one, 33-32.
In the second half, Missouri took its first lead of the game with 18:12 left to play when Paulding hit a layup to give the Tigers a 37-36 advantage. The teams traded baskets with neither getting ahead by more than five over the next seven minutes before Missouri used an 11-1 run to take a 62-48 lead with 5:04 to play. MU center Arthur Johnson scored 10 points in the run before finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Paulding joined Johnson with a double-double for the Tigers, collecting a team-high 19 points and 11 boards.
Nebraska cut the lead to eight twice in the final minute but could not get any closer, as the Huskers hit just 21.2 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.
Drevo finished with team highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds while Johnson was the only other Husker to reach double figures with 12 points. Senior Brennon Clemmons, playing his last game for the Huskers, had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists while tying his career high with five steals.
Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.