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LINCOLN, Neb. – Kennesaw State jumped out to an early lead while junior guard Terrell Burden tied his career-high with 27 points, but the Owls couldn't stop the Nebraska three-point attack on the way to an 88-74 setback Wednesday night in men's college basketball action. In front of a crowd of 14,519 at Pinnacle Bank Arena, KSU saw the host Cornhusker squad make a season-high 15 three-point field goals (out of 29 attempts), while the Owls finished just 7-of-26 from behind the arc.
 
OWL OF THE GAME: Burden led all scorers after finishing 10-of-14 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 at the line. He also paced the Owls in assists with six and grabbed a career-high tying eight rebounds as well.
 
STAT OF THE GAME: Nebraska's final field goal percentage was 52.6% (30-of-57), as the Huskers also shot 15-of-22 on two-point attempts. KSU meanwhile was held to just 41.3% (26-of-63).
 
FIRST HALF: The first half saw the Owls hot at the start. KSU scored the first five points off a trey and a steal and dunk for a quick 5-0 lead. Spencer Rodgers was the early spark, as he knocked down a pair of treys in the opening five minutes, his second part of a 7-0 Owl run that put KSU ahead 16-8 over the host Huskers.
 
Then came the deciding stretch of the game. The Owls would miss their next eight shots from the floor while also committing six turnovers over a six-minute stretch. Nebraska made sure to take advantage of that drought, with a 15-0 run that featured three treys for a 27-18 advantage. A pair of three-pointers from Chris Youngblood and Jamir Moultrie brought KSU within 27-24, until the Huskers countered with back-to-back shots of their own from behind the arc. KSU came no closer than eight the rest of the half.
 
SECOND HALF: KSU started the second half with a layup from Youngblood to cut the deficit to single digits at 45-36. Nebraska then reeled off the next 12 points, nine coming off three-pointers, to go up 57-36. The lead grew to as high as 25 points before ending at the 14-point final margin.
 
QUOTEABLE: "I thought Nebraska was due. I think Coach Hoiberg and his staff do a great job offensively, and I think they were all better shooters than the numbers said. I was hoping it wasn't against us, but obviously they jumped up and I think they ended up making 15 threes, so I thought they were due and capable. Hats off to them, they did a great job of shooting the ball. I thought we, for whatever reason, after about the first four or five minutes of the game got lethargic, and not a slight to them defensively, the pace we played with the first couple of minutes went out the window. We have to figure out a way to help them see that when we play with pace whether off misses or makes, that pace is that important. Really impressed at the end with Nebraska, Doc and Fred do a great job."
 
On the amount of turnovers affecting pace
"I think any time you turn the ball over on the road it kills momentum. It's not a slight to Nebraska's defense as much as we got tired or comfortable thinking that they were going to let us throw it wherever we wanted. We got lazy. When you have 21 turnovers on the road, you might as well cancel the game because you're not going to win it. We gave ourselves a chance to win our last game at Sanford by only turning it over nine times, but we had nine in the first half. Against well-coached and talented teams you, can't do it, it's going to hurt you every time."
 
On positive rebound margin
"That's part of our identity. We want to be good on the glass and want to be tough on the glass no matter who we're playing, Big Ten team or ASUN team. I think that gave us opportunity, I think we scored 10 points on second chances, so that helps us. It's another way that helps us score is second-chance opportunities. I was really proud of the guys in that sense, because that part of our identity showed up. Taking care of the ball not so much, but the rebounding was a plus." – Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim      
 
NOTES
-Youngblood recorded his first career double-double Wednesday thanks to 11 points and a career-best 12 rebounds.
-Also in double-figures was Moultrie with 12.
-The Owls won the rebounding battle for the third straight game with a 42-31 advantage. That led to a 10-3 edge on second chance points.
-One game after committing only nine turnovers, the Owls turned it over 21 times against the Huskers, the second-highest mark of the season.
-KSU shot 78.9% (15-of-19) at the line.
 
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls break for the Christmas holiday before returning to action with their last non-conference game of the season, Thursday, Dec. 30 against Toccoa Falls at 7 pm in the Convocation Center.