Sophomore guard Gary Harris dribbles towards the basket while guarded by Nebraska forward Terran Petteway on Feb. 16, 2014, at Breslin Center. Harris scored 9 points in the first half. Betsy Agosta/The State News
With a chance to separate themselves with Michigan in the Big Ten race, No. 9 MSU is off to a sluggish start against Nebraska. Led by Walter Pitchford’s 12 points, the Huskers lead the Spartans, 32-25.
Terran Petteway, the Big Ten’s second leading scorer, wasted no time filling the hoops for the Huskers, scoring seven of Nebraska’s first 13 points. His early hot hand let Nebraska jump to a 13-4 lead, but MSU trotted a stranger out on to the court – senior guard Keith Appling.
After missing the previous three games, Appling checked into the game and logged two points in 13 minutes of first half play.
The Spartans rattled off a 13-2 run to take a 17-15 lead with 7:24 left in the half. Senior forward Adreian Payne knocked down two free throws to tie the game at 15-all.
Payne was held to limited minutes in the first half after committing his second foul with 8:19 on the clock.
Sophomore guard Gary Harris gave MSU its first lead on a tip-slam off an Alvin Ellis III missed 3-pointer. Harris leads the Spartans in scoring with nine points.
Kaminski got three of those points after knocking down a 3-pointer after what seemed to be a missed over-and-back call. The possible missed call allowed for MSU to reset its offense and gave Kaminski an open look, which sent the Nebraska coaching staff into a rage during the timeout.
The lead was swung back to Nebraska after Pitchford hit a 3-pointer to give the Huskers a 23-22 lead, followed with smack-talking MSU’s bench.
MSU continued to let its guard down and let Nebraska grab a 28-22 lead. A Harris 3-pointer cut the lead down to 28-25, but Pitchford once again nailed a long ball to answer the call.
MSU has been uncharacteristically reckless with the ball, committing five of its seven turnovers in the last five minutes of the half.
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