Lincoln, Neb. (Nov. 19, 2015) ---Delaware State made a frantic second half comeback attempt, but ran out of gas in a 75-60 men's basketball loss to the University of Nebraska at the Pinnacle Bank Arena this evening.
The Hornets cut a 25-point second half deficit to four with a little more than five minutes to play, but the Cornhuskers scored 12 of the last 13 points to seal their second win in three games.
Nebraska hit seven three-point shots in the first half en route to a 46-32 lead at the break. The Cornhuskers outscored DSU 17-6 to start the second half, and opened up a 63-38 lead on a three-pointer by Tai Webster with 11:54 left to play.
The Hornets stunned Nebraska and the home crowd by scoring 21 unanswered points over the next six-and-a-half minutes to claw their way back into the game. Freshman guard Mahir Johnson started the rally with a three-point basket and Jason Owens capped off the spurt with a jumper in the lane to pull the Hornets to within 63-59 with 5:09 left remaining in the game.
DSU hit nine of its 14 shots from the field during the run. DeAndre Haywood keyed the comeback, scoring all 11 of his points during the span. Johnson knocked down a three-pointer and contributed a steal and assist, while Owens added four points to help lead the rally.
Meanwhile, the DSU defense forced Nebraska to miss each of its six shots and commit five turnovers during the Hornet spurt.
The Cornhuskers ended the 21-point Delaware State run on a jumper by Shavon Shields to open up a 65-59 lead at the 5:05 mark of the second half.
After the Hornets came up empty on their next two possessions, Nebraska's Andrew White III nailed a three-pointer to give the Huskers a 68-59 lead with 4:16 left to play.
Nebraska continued its rally by scoring the next six points to stretch its lead to 75-59 with less than two minutes to play.
Haywood and Hughes led the Hornets with 11 points each, while Johnson came off the bench to add a season-high nine for the Hornets. Johnson was three-for-five from the field, including three-of-four from three-point territory.
Shields was high scorer for Nebraska with 21 points, while White III added 20, highlighted by four three-pointers (4-9).
Delaware State shot a slightly higher field goal percentage in the game. The Hornets were 21-for-47 from the field (44.7%), including five-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Nebraska shot 44.0% from the floor, connecting on 22-of-50 shots, including 12 three-pointers on 28 attempts (42.9%).
The Hornets were outrebounded 34-27 and failed to connect on nine of their 22 free throw attempts.
Delaware State (0-3) is back in action on Saturday at home against first-time opponent Lamar (Tex.). Game time is 12 p.m. in Memorial Hall.
