BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Nebraska found itself in the zone Monday night.

The No. 25 Indiana Hoosiers looked completely befuddled.

As Glynn Watson Jr. scored 15 points, Isaac Copeland added 14 and James Palmer flirted with a triple double, it was a smothering defense that helped Nebraska pull away for a 66-51 upset — its second straight victory on the Hoosiers’ home court.

“At halftime, I said ‘It’s OK to win with defense,'” Cornhuskers coach Tim Miles said, trying to steady his team. “This is sure a confidence builder.”

The Huskers (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) won their second straight overall, extended their winning streak in the series to a school-record three and racked up style points by limiting the nation’s second-best shooting team to its lowest point total and worst shooting percentage (36.5) of the season.

All it took was a fast start and Mills’ trademark 1-3-1 defense to rattle the lethargic Hoosiers (12-5, 3-3), who never recovered from a dismal start. Indiana has lost three straight overall and had its home-court winning streak snapped at 10.

“That was probably one of the most disappointing games that we’ve played as a team this season. We didn’t have any energy, any pop, either end of the floor,” Indiana coach Archie Miller said. “I didn’t think that we played with near enough energy to compete in this league. Offensively we were just horrendous in the first half.”

It wasn’t a matter of what went wrong but what didn’t?

While Romeo Langford scored 18 points and Juwan Howard had 17 points and eight rebounds, nobody else scored more than five. And aside from Langford and Morgan, who were a combined 13 of 29 from the field, Indiana managed just six baskets.

Palmer, meanwhile, had 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists — matching Indiana’s team assist total in a game the Hoosiers seemed to zone out.

“I thought we did a good job getting to Romeo and Juwan, making them play in a crowd,” Miles said. “We kept them out of transition for the most part. Getting off to an early lead was probably most important. Getting the crowd out of the game. The way you win big road games, you play from the front, and just hang on.”

Nebraska followed that blueprint perfectly, scoring the first nine points and extending the lead to 25-7 midway through the first half.

When the Cornhuskers missed 12 consecutive shots, Indiana closed the deficit to 26-20 late in the first half and got as close as 35-32 early in the second half.

But Nebraska answered with an 8-0 run and closed it out by methodically pulling away late.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers’ defense can challenge anyone in the Big Ten with its length and versatility. And when they score consistently, they can pose a real threat against any team anywhere.

Indiana: Sure, the bounces didn’t go Indiana’s way. But Miller acknowledged his team was lethargic and out of sync from the start. He knows they need to get better quickly.

STAT PACK

Nebraska: Never trailed in the game. … The 15-point victory margin was Nebraska’s largest in the series since a 38-18 victory in February 1920. . … Palmer and Copeland made their 50th consecutive starts. … The Cornhuskers also ended the Hoosiers 26-game home winning streak in December 2016, their last trip to Assembly Hall.

Indiana: Made only four of its first 19 shots and had only nine points with 5 minutes left in the first half. … The Hoosiers were 2 of 14 form 3-point range and 11 of 19 on free throws. … Justin Smith was 2 of 7 from the field after making 22 of 27 in the previous five games (81.5 percent). He had five points.

THEY SAID IT

Nebraska: “I thought our guys did a very good job with the game plan from the get go,” Miles said.

Indiana: “We just weren’t getting the ball moved,” Langford said. “We were just playing a little bit too conservative on the 1-3-1, weren’t really attacking, and that’s what you’re supposed to do against the 1-3-1 is attack and get the ball in the middle.”

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Returns home Thursday to face its second straight ranked opponent, No. 6 Michigan State

Indiana: Hits the road for the third time in four games when it visits rival Purdue on Saturday.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Knights women’s basketball team was defeated on Monday night by the Northeast Community College Hawks, 89-45.

Madisyn Francis, from Houston, Texas, was the lone player to score in double figures with 13 points.  Nahatabaa Nacona, from Chinle, Ariz., added nine points.

Katie Cox, from New Port Richey, Fla., had nine rebounds to lead the Knights and Francis added seven rebounds.

Irene Sanz led the Hawks and all scorers with 20 points.  Two other Hawks also scored in double figures.  Lauren Hunstad had 15 points and Blake Mann added 12 points. Three of the Hawks had seven rebounds.

The Knights, now 2-13 on the season, are in action on Friday night, when they travel to Trinidad, Colo., to play Region IX Division I opponent, Trinidad State Junior College.

North Platte, Ne – Knights basketball is finally back after almost a month break for the holidays.

The Women played their first game back on Friday the 11th (they were scheduled to play a game against York earlier in the week before it was cancelled) and the Men had their second game back after the break as both teams took on Central Community College.

The Women would have their first look at one of the teams they would need to go through to win the region in the matchup. Things started out all Raiders as they jumped on the Knights with an 8-0 run to open the game. The Knights were getting good looks at the rim but shots just would not fall for the Knights. Central would have a 14-2 lead after one quarter of play.

The second looked much like the first as Central would jump out of the gate again, starting the quarter with an 8-2 that would prompt a time out from Head Coach Jeff Thurman. Whatever Coach Thurman said to the team worked as the Women then went on a 10-3 run out of the time out. North Platte would outscore Central 21-15 in the quarter to go into halftime down just six; 29-23. Emily Joesph came alive in the 2nd scoring 12 points while playing good defense.

With all the momentum the Knights would come out hot in the second half and with 7:50 left in the third they would take their first lead of the game. Madisyn Francis got involved in the scoring as she put in 8pts to lead the Knights in the frame. Again the Knights would outscore Central Community College 21-12 and would take a three point lead into the fourth; 44-41.

That would set up a great fourth quarter of basketball. North Platte would continue its momentum and start the quarter off on a 12-8 run to go up by as much as seven at one point. Central would not go away behind the play of Monica Brooks, the 6’0″ forward from Oklahoma the Raiders were able to come back and retake the lead. The Raiders would get a few key stops down the stretch and edge out the Knights 68-62.

Leading the way for the Knights was Emily Joesph who had 23 in the contest along with 3 rebounds. Madisyn Francis also scored in double digits with 15 points.

The Women next play on the 14th as they travel to Norfolk to take on Northeast.

After the Women’s game was through the Men took to the court looking to keep rolling after playing the night before in Hastings.

The Men looked slow to start the game letting Central jump out to a 7-0 lead which got a quick time out from head coach Kevin Oconnor. He lit the fire under the men as they came out of the time out and rattled off 11 points to take the lead 11-9.

From there the teams spent the next few minutes trading the lead with neither team able to really get a leg up on the other one. Finally the Knights were able to break through when Ilya Tyrtyshnik the forward from the Ukraine found his shot and knocked down two big three point shots. From there the Knights were able to get some distance and pull away from the Raiders taking a 41-24 lead into half time.

The second half was all North Platte as they came out and showed why they are perfect this year at home and have only one loss on the season. Tyrtyshnik continued his hot shooting (he would end the game with 22 points) and help keep the game out of reach. Center Nelo Nducuia from Mozambique would corral 11 rebounds before fouling out and the Knights would improve to 11-1 on the season, getting the win 74-59.

The Men play next on Friday as they travel to southern colorado to play Otero and Trinidad.

North Platte – Alexa McCall, head volleyball coach of the North Platte Community College Knights, announced the signing of two players for the 2019 season, Chloe Baker, from Wiggins, Colo., and Ruby Valle, from Weldon Valley High School in Weldona, Colorado.

Baker, a 5’ 3” setter, played four seasons on the Wiggins varsity team.  In her career, Baker had 3367 set assists, 800 defensive digs, 105 service aces and a serving percentage of 94.2 in 1456 attempts.

“We are excited to have Chloe join the Lady Knight family,” McCall said. “She is a fundamentally sound player that has a mind for the game!”

Valle, a 5’ 1” defensive specialist, played four seasons for the Weldon Valley varsity.  Valle had 817 defensive digs, 70 service aces, and a serving percentage of 93.5 in 705 attempts.

“Ruby comes from a solid program and we are excited to have her join the program,” McCall said. “She will add depth in the passing position.”

Baker and Valle join Erica Hopping, from Sutherland, Alysen Daniels and Courtney Rice, from Mullen to the 2019 recruiting class for the Knights.

Hastings – The North Platte Community College Knights men’s basketball team opened up the second semester with a 100-81 win over the Hastings College Junior Varsity Broncos on Thursday night.

The Knights led at halftime, 52-42.

The Knights had five players scoring in double figures, led by Courtney Murrell, from Carrollton, Texas, who led all scorers with 26 points. Edgars Kaufmanis, from Valmiera, Latvia, was next in scoring with 18 points. Mert Halavurte, from Izmir, Turkey, and Ilya Tyrtyshnik, from Kiev, Ukraine, each had 14 points. The other Knight to score in double figures was Nelo Nducuia, from Maputo, Mozambique, who finished with 10 points.

The Broncos also had five players in double figures. Trevor Adelung, Josh Quinn, and Shannon Watkins, each had 14 points. Ryan Ierra, had 12 points, and Austin Esch had 11 points

The Knights, improve to 10-1 on the season.

They are next in action tomorrow night at home when they play Region IX Division II and Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference opponent Central Community College.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m., following the women’s basketball game.
The night is “Military Appreciation” night.

The games will be broadcast on 98.1 FM / 1410 AM radio or on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com.

They will also be livestreamed at www.npccknights.com.