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Purdue Men Miss 29 Three-point Attempts, Lose To Nebraska

Casey Abbett
/
WBAA News

It's common in NCAA basketball for teams to go on runs -- even teams that seem far behind.

So when Nebraska opened Sunday's game against Purdue with a 12-2 spurt, it wasn't shocking to see the Boilermakers respond with a run of their own to make it 14-14 -- or for Nebraska (5-6, 1-1 Big Ten) to play the rest of the half strongly and take a 34-23 lead into the break.

And though Purdue (6-4, 1-1 Big Ten) seemed to get a boost to what was a poor shooting night when Nojel Eastern opened the second half with an emphatic, driving slam dunk, the Boilers' shooting woes returned.

Nebraska moved Big Ten home teams to 12-0 on the season with a 70-56 win, in a game they led by as many as 15 in the second stanza.

Purdue had an obvious advantage in the interior, but didn't make good use of its big men, Trevion Williams and Matt Haarms, repeatedly settling instead for three-point shots (which they converted at just a 17-percent clip on the night).

And when Haarms was undercut on a drive by Nebraska's Charlie Easley with six minutes remaining in the game, he had to be helped from the floor after coming down hard on his shoulder and neck.

Haarms would not return, and neither would the Boilers' edge. In the game, Cornhusker guard Cam Mack became his school's first-ever player to register a triple-double (11 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists).

Purdue continues its road trip Tuesday night at Ohio University.