Photo Showcase: Nebraska 76, South Dakota State 64
Box Score: Nebraska 76, South Dakota State 64
* * *
LINCOLN — After Wednesday’s 83-76 loss to Oregon, Nebraska coach Doc Sadler approached freshman David Rivers. He told him there would be minutes available in upcoming games and someone needed to step up.
That was before starting guard Caleb Walker spent Friday night and Saturday morning battling an illness, further opening opportunities for bench players like Rivers and Toney McCray — who played a combined eight minutes against the Ducks.
The duo took advantage Saturday, combining for 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Huskers defeated South Dakota State 76-64 to improve to 4-1.
“I knew coming into the game we were going to need some help to fill what (Walker) brings to the table,” McCray said. “It’s a lot easier to outscore a team than defend them all the time.”
McCray and Rivers, along with Dylan Talley and his 12 points, helped NU to a 32-18 edge in bench scoring. The Huskers also used their significant size advantage to outscore the Jackrabbits by 14 in the paint.
But South Dakota State kept the game close, cutting its deficit to five with 8½ minutes left. Bo Spencer again proved to be the closer NU has been searching for, scoring half of his 18 points in the final seven minutes to seal the win.
Brandon Ubel added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Jorge Brian Diaz chipped in eight points. But Jackrabbits coach Scott Nagy said it wasn’t the Husker starters who sank his team.
“Quite frankly, McCray was their MVP,” he said. “He hit big shots when we got close. He played better offensively than we gave him credit for. It wasn’t their stars that hurt; it was their bench that hurt us.”
While McCray’s 12 points and six rebounds stuck out, Rivers’ performance wasn’t quite as overwhelming.
The guard is short on experience (his 10 first-half minutes were more than he’d played in the first four games combined). He contributed eight points and five rebounds in 18 minutes Saturday.
Afterward, Rivers admitted that the adjustment from high school, where he played most of the game, to college has been difficult at times. But with NU’s senior-heavy lineup, he knew the minutes wouldn’t always be bountiful.
“When I came in I knew we had so many seniors,” Rivers said. “I knew I had to work hard. I’ve just got to be patient.”
On Saturday at least, he, McCray and Talley gave the Huskers exactly what they needed. NU isn’t known for its scoring, but as some of the Husker newcomers have become more comfortable, the scoreboard operator has become busier. NU is averaging more than 78 points during its past three games.
“What the guys off the bench are doing is giving us points and that’s what you’d like them to do,” Sadler said. “You guys can all write about how I love to be a defensive coach, but it’s a lot more fun to be an offensive coach, I promise you.
“Right now it looks like we can score some points. We just need to get our defense back where it usually is.”
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds