Neal, Carter Trigger 17-Point Win

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Two seniors led Oklahoma to a win over Nebraska on Wednesday night. Now the Sooners hope that Michael Neal and Nate Carter can sustain that momentum.

Neal scored 20 points while showing signs of snapping out of a season-long shooting slump and Carter continued to make his presence felt in the paint, scoring 19 points as Oklahoma beat the Cornhuskers 70-53.

Neal, who entered the contest shooting only 25 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, connected on 6-of-10 shots from behind the arc against the Cornhuskers. He made three 3-pointers in the first half when Oklahoma (10-6, 2-2) was fending off a pesky Nebraska squad.

Meanwhile, Carter scored 11 of his season-high 19 during a decisive 16-3 run that saw Oklahoma turn a 38-34 lead into a 17-point advantage with 10:50 remaining.

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After averaging just 4.4 points and 2.3 rebounds prior to conference play, Carter has turned into a key contributor over the last four basketball games. During that span, the senior has averaged 16.2 points and 7.5 boards to lead the Sooners.

"It was good to see Michael making shots like he was tonight. Hopefully, we can keep him going," Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. "(Nate) got off to a bit of slow start but then he really picked up for us. I thought he and (Taylor) Griffin played great together and they complement each other really well."

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Nebraska (11-5, 0-2) had hoped to take advantage of a size edge inside thanks to the absence of Oklahoma's starting center, Longar Longar, who was serving the second game of a two-game suspension. But a collapsing Oklahoma defense, led by Carter and Griffin, limited 6-foot-11 Nebraska center Aleks Maric to just eight points.

Oklahoma also outrebounded Nebraska 37-21.

"I apologize to everyone in Nebraska that had to sit there and watch the Nebraska basketball team play like that," Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. "It hurts. The only thing that I know to do is go back and work. We will go at 5:30 tomorrow morning for two hours, and back tomorrow afternoon. We are going to do that tomorrow and Friday, and try to get things corrected."

Neal's third 3-pointer of the game came with 39 seconds left in the opening half and staked the Sooners to a 30-26 halftime lead. Prior to that bucket, the two teams had traded the lead 10 times over the previous 11 minutes.

With momentum on its side, Oklahoma took control of the game in the second half. Carter's work in the paint sparked the decisive run that was capped by a Neal 3-pointer that put the Sooners on top 54-37.

"I am just out there having fun, getting the opportunity to play and taking advantage of it," Carter said. "We have been playing well as a team and that's been the biggest difference."

Marcus Perry was the lone Nebraska player to score in double figures, hitting four 3-pointers and finishing with 14 points. Charles Richardson added nine points for the Cornhuskers, all on 3-pointers.

"Give Oklahoma credit because they played hard," Sadler said. "I think that is all you can ask anybody to do. I think that Jeff has got their team playing hard. I thought that we had our players playing that way. Effort wise, that was as bad from a basketball team that I have been a part of in a long, long time."

The Sooners started fast behind Neal's long-range shooting. He buried a pair of treys to give the hosts an 11-2 edge less than five minutes into the game.

Nebraska answered with a 14-2 run that gave the Cornhuskers their first lead at 16-13 with 10:35 left in the half. A pair of 3-pointers from Jamel White sparked that rally.

Moments later, a 3-pointer by Austin Johnson put Oklahoma back on top 18-16 and started a seesaw battle during which the teams took equal turns with the lead. A driving bucket by Carter gave the Sooners the lead for good at 27-26.

"Our man-to-man (defense) was really good tonight. I thought we did a good job of getting out to shots and contesting," Capel said. "We put pressure on the ball and forced some key turnovers."

The Sooners also outrebounded the visitors 11-2 on the offensive end and shot 46.9 percent from the field, compared to just 34.9 percent for the Cornhuskers.

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