Haanif Cheatham had a season high 26 points and Dachon Burke added 21 to lead Nebraska to a 74-67 victory over USF in the third-place game of the Cayman Islands Classic.
David Collins had 16 points, 14 in the second half to lead USF and Laquincy Rideau added 15 points and five assists.
RunningTheBulls.com covered the game and here is our Instant Analysis:
IT WAS OVER WHEN: Cam Mack scored over Michael Durr with 1:09 remaining to give Nebraska a 71-65 lead.
HE STOLE THE SHOW: Cheatham and Burke were unstoppable. Cheatham was the leading scorer for the game and kept Nebraska in the game in the first half when it looked like the Bulls were going to run out to a double-digit lead. Burke scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half including going three-of-three beyond the arc after halftime.
WHAT A PLAY: With 3:53 left in the first half, Rideau drove from left to right across the free throw line and whipped a one-handed pass over his left shoulder towards Michael Durr who was open under the basket. Durr caught the pass and slammed it home to give the Bulls a 35-27 lead.
THE STAT DOESN’T LIE: Both the Bulls and Cornhuskers made 27 field goals, however USF attempted 21 more shots than Nebraska. If the Bulls made just 35 percent of those 21 extra shots, and they were all two pointers, they win easily.
THE BOTTOM LINE: USF (3-4) has lost two in a row out their business trip to the Cayman Islands. This is one game that feels like the Bulls let get away. USF had just nine turnovers, out-rebounded Nebraska by ten – was +14 on the offensive glass – and for the most part forced the Cornhuskers into a half-court game. That was a recipe for a USF win today. But it didn’t work out that way.
Next up is Furman on Monday, Dec. 2 in the Yuengling Center.