Jan 29, 2003
Final Stats
By ERIC OLSON
Associated Press Writer
LINCOLN, Neb. - Missouri made up for its lack of offense Wednesday
night with a big second half of defense.
The 25th-ranked Tigers held Nebraska to six field goals and 22.2-percent
shooting in the final 20 minutes and rallied for a 63-56 victory.
"If you look at how we played the entire 40 minutes, that's a heck of a
win," Missouri coach Quin Snyder said. "It wasn't pretty, but it's one of
those that's really gratifying because of how you did it.
"You want to be able to win when you don't shoot well and you have foul
trouble. Our guys played through a lot tonight."
Arthur Johnson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who ended a
three-game road losing streak. Rickey Paulding added 14 points and Travon
Bryant 10 for the Tigers (12-4, 3-2 Big 12).
Andrew Drevo hit four 3-pointers and led the Cornhuskers (9-10, 1-5) with 24
points and 14 rebounds. Nate Johnson had 14 points.
Nebraska, which shot a season-low 30.9 percent for the game, has lost three
straight and five of six.
"It's kind of the same old story in conference play," Drevo said. "The
second half we can't get the ball to fall. They played some good pressure
defense, but we got some good shots. They just didn't fall."
Missouri wiped out a nine-point halftime deficit in the first 7:22 of the
second half. The Tigers, who shot 44.8 percent for the game, made 55.2 percent
of their attempts after the break.
"They played with a little more fire in the second half," Nebraska coach
Barry Collier said. "That's to their credit."
Ricky Clemons scored on a fast-break layup with 12:38 left to cap a 12-3
spurt and give Missouri its first lead of the game, 41-40.
Freshman Kevin Young scored twice inside and Bryant hit two free throws as
the Tigers stretched their advantage to 49-41.
But Nate Johnson sank a 3-pointer and two free throws and, after Arthur
Johnson scored, Jason Dourisseau hit a foul shot and lay-in to bring the
Huskers to 51-49.
Missouri scored the next six points for a 57-49 cushion and sealed the game
when Josh Kroenke took a pass from Jimmy McKinney and drilled a 3 with 1:28
left on his only shot of the night.
"That's as big a shot as he's had in his career," Snyder said, "and as
big as we've had on the road."
Kroenke agreed.
"I was ready for it," he said. "Jimmy got the ball to me, and I just
knocked it down."
Nebraska led 31-22 at halftime even though it shot just 39.3 percent and
committed nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Tigers struggled even more, shooting 34.5 percent and turning the ball
over 11 times in the first half.
It was the fifth straight game the Tigers got off to a slow start. In the
first halves of the previous four games, Missouri shot 29 percent, 35.5
percent, 34.5 percent and 33.3 percent. The Tigers were 1-3 in those games.
This time, Missouri missed its first seven shots and went scoreless on seven
possessions before Arthur Johnson scored inside.
By then, Nebraska led 9-0 after Drevo converted a four-point play, hit
another 3-pointer and Brennon Clemmons scored off a steal.
The Huskers led by 13 points after two Nate Johnson free throws with 6:44
left in the half. The Tigers pulled to 26-18 on Clemons' 3-pointer, but Drevo
answered with a 3 of his own to push the lead back to 11 points.
