LINCOLN, NEB. - Freshman Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J.) posted 25 points to lead all scorers, but it wasn't enough as Rutgers fell to Nebraska 63-51 at the Devaney Center on Sunday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (6-3) came back to within five points with 10:37 to go, but Nebraska (7-2) went on a 12-0 run to pull away with the victory.
"We just couldn't make a shot," said head coach Fred Hill. "I didn't think we took particularly good shots. We got off to a good start, but all of a sudden they made a play, and we played sloppy basketball for six or seven minutes. It was more on the offensive end than the defensive end. They got some easy baskets, and in the last two minutes of the half we gave up seven or eight points in transition which we normally don't do. Sometimes when your offense isn't doing well it leads to poor defense. We just have to play better on the road."
It was a one-point (22-21) game after the midpoint of the opening stanza after a JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) basket. The Cornhuskers went on a 10-0 run to go into the locker room with a 32-21 halftime lead, however. Nebraska then opened the second half with a 9-3 run to go up 41-24, but a 15-3 Rutgers run, including eight points from Chandler, brought the team to within five at 44-39. Nebraska was able to regroup, outscoring RU 19-12 the rest of the way for the 12-point victory.
Chandler's career day extended past scoring. The freshman was 10-for-20 from the floor, marking career-highs in field goals and field goal attempts. He grabbed six rebounds, a career-high, including a career-high four offensive rebounds. He was two-for-five from downtown, tying his career-high for three-pointers made and attempted, and blocked his first shot of the season. Chandler also tied his career-high with 34 minutes played.
Inman was the only other Scarlet Knight to score in double-figures, with 12 points. He also grabbed four rebounds, giving him 401 for his career. He now stands in 42nd place on the Rutgers all-time rebounding list and needs only four rebounds to tie Eddie Jordan for 41st place. Sophomore Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) blocked five shots, giving him 83 for his career, good for 11th place on the Rutgers all-time blocked shot list.
The Scarlet Knights next take to the hardwood on Thursday, Dec. 13, when they travel to the Prudential Center to face NJIT at 7:00 p.m.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Rutgers Coach Fred Hill Quotes
On the loss to Nebraska...
"We got off to a great start, but all of a sudden they started making big plays and making a few shots. (Aleks) Maric is a load inside. We did a pretty good job against him, but they just shot a higher percentage than we've been giving up--they shot 45 percent on the game and we've been holding teams to 39. They got some easy baskets and Maric got some easy baskets. We were two pretty evenly matched teams, we just have to play well on the road."
On Nebraska's scoring run in the second half...
"We got back in there with a run in the second half, but we made a defensive mistake and gave up a 3-pointer, which should never happen. We came back down and got a good look, but missed the shot which should never happen. Then they came back down and made another shot and it just kept ping-ponging back and forth."
Rutgers guard Corey Chandler
On Nebraska's scoring run in the second half...
"We felt good coming into the second half, but Nebraska played with a lot of intensity. We just lost concentration. If you can make a run before half time you can stay in the game. But since we were down at half, we really put ourselves in the hole."
On Rutgers' three losses on the road...
"On the road, we seem like we just aren't finishing strong. We really dug ourselves in a hole. We played good as individuals, but as a team we need to pull together. Also, their (Nebraska's) arena is a lot bigger and there is so much noise that it's hard to hear the coaches. We really just need to bounce back and start getting wins on the road."
