A Lone Star State homecoming suited Toney McCray and Alonzo Edwards just fine Saturday night.

The two redshirt freshmen from Texas helped Nebraska’s basketball team earn its first .500 record in the Big 12 Conference in a decade, combining for 24 points in a 66-62 win over Baylor in Waco.

McCray, from Missouri City, Texas, scored a career-high 18 – which included a crucial block and fast break basket play near the end of the game – and added four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Houston native Edwards, who played sparingly - if at all - in most Big 12 games this season, scored six second-half points on two surprising 3-pointers.

Edwards was called into service after NU guard Sek Henry suffered a knee bruise during a first-half collision with a Baylor guard. Edwards hit two treys at the top of the key right at midway through the second half, the last of which tied the game at 38.

Nebraska (18-11 overall, 8-8 in the Big 12 Conference) took the lead for good at 44-42 on a Ryan Anderson’s 3-pointer. On the Bears’ next possession, McCray got a block, started the fast break, and finished it when he received a pass back from Anderson for a transition dunk. NU led 46-42.

The Bears (17-13 and 5-11) hung tough, hitting a quartet of 3-pointers down the stretch to stay with striking distance. But Nebraska made all ten of its free throws in the game’s final minute to seal the victory.

With the win, NU finished exactly at .500 in the Big 12. The last time the Huskers pulled off that feat was in 1998-99, when they finished 10-6. Their reward for the milestone? Facing BU again in the first game of the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Beat the Bears, and Nebraska would play top-seeded Kansas.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post