National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Nebraska 57, Purdue 55
When: 6:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 14, 2013
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials: # Chris Beaver, # Ed Hightower, # Ted Valentine
Attendance: N/A

Nebraska 57, Purdue 55:
Shavon Shields had 19 points and six rebounds as the Cornhuskers held off the Boilermakers in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in Chicago.

Brandon Ubel had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists as 10th-seeded Nebraska (15-17) led the entire second half and survived two misses by Purdue’s Terone Johnson in the final four seconds. The Cornhuskers will face second-seeded Ohio State in Friday's quarterfinals.

D.J. Byrd had 15 points and eight rebounds for seventh-seeded Purdue (15-17), which will miss the NCAA Tournament after making six consecutive appearances. A.J. Hammons added 11 points and Ronnie Johnson had 10.

The Cornhuskers scored the first nine points of the second half to open up an 11-point lead. The Boilermakers trailed by nine with 8:32 remaining and eventually pulled within 54-53 on Byrd’s 3-pointer with 39.1 seconds left.

Shields had 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half as Nebraska took a 30-28 lead into the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nebraska had only six turnovers and committed just eight in two games against the Boilermakers this season. … Purdue was only 2-of-12 from 3-point range with Byrd making both of them to finish the season with 75. … Cornhuskers G Ray Gallegos had just nine points but made his 82nd 3-pointer, seven shy of matching the single-season school mark held by Cary Cochran (2001-02).
Top Game Performances
 
Nebraska   Purdue
Shavon Shields 19 Scoring D.J. Byrd 15
Brandon Ubel 5 Assists Ronnie Johnson 4
Brandon Ubel 8 Rebounds D.J. Byrd 8
Brandon Ubel 8 Free Throws Made Rapheal Davis 2
Shavon Shields 2 Steals Ronnie Johnson 1
Ray Gallegos 1 Blocks D.J. Byrd 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Nebraska 57 44.7 3-11 12-17 15 28 4 7 6
Purdue 55 40.4 2-12 7-14 13 33 5 1 7