LINCOLN, Neb. – The Fighting Leathernecks dropped game two of the year, 62-47, at Nebraska Tuesday (Nov. 12). The Huskers, a member of the Big Ten Conference, improved to 2-0 on the season, while Western fell to 0-2.

“I thought we had a hard time matching up with that team," said head coach Jim Molinari. "Our strength was Michael Ochereobia, he was able to score down low against Walter Pitchford. The weakness was that (Ochereobia) couldn't guard him on the floor. We have to look at that."

WIU never led, and trailed by as much as 23 points, but the Leathernecks battled and finished the game on a 10-4 run in the loss. Western trailed by 19 at halftime before outscoring the Huskers 30-26 in the second half.

"Give Nebraska credit though," continued Molinari. "I thought Tim Miles did a great job. This is a beautiful place, there's an energy in here and Tim Miles is an energized guy. There's an energy through the whole program. I thought they were extremely well prepared and took away a lot of us."

Nine Leathernecks played in the game, and all nine players scored.

Sophomore Tate Stensgaard finished with a team-best 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Stensgaard also grabbed four rebounds and had had one steal.

Leading the team with eight rebounds was Michael Ochereobia. The senior center also had eight points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line, while recording a block, an assist and a steal as well.

Jordan Foster and Adam Link each finished with a team-best three helpers in the game. Foster also notched seven points, while Link had five rebounds and two steals.

Freshman Garret Covington and Jabari Sandifer tallied five points and four rebounds apiece.

Nebraska jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after a layup and back-to-back three-pointers, but WIU scored six unanswered to make it 8-6 at the first media timeout of the period (15:16).

After Covington converted on 1-of-2 free throws to cut WIU's deficit to one point (8-7), the Huskers scored six of the next eight points to make it 14-9 in favor of Nebraska.

Coach Molinari was forced to call a timeout with 9:12 left in the first as Western found itself down, 19-11.

The Huskers would build their lead up to 12 points (26-14), forcing Molinari to call another timeout with 7:25 left in the period.

Nebraska continued to build on its lead throughout the rest of the period, and took a 36-17 lead into halftime.

Like at Idaho, the Leathernecks struggled from the floor in the first shooting 31.8% from the field, while the Huskers connected on 56% of their shots. Nebraska also connected on 4-of-8 triples in the period.

Five WIU players scored in the first led by Ochereobia and Stensgaard who each tallied four points. Covington, Sandifer and Foster each finished the first period with three points via the three-point shot. Ochereobia also had a first half-best five rebounds, as well as a block and an assist.

Ochereobia scored the second half's first points, a pair of free throws, and Stensgaard finished a tip-in to get Western within 17 points, but at the first media timeout of the period (15:58) WIU found itself down, 41-21.

After Nebraska hit on a jumper, freshman Mike Miklusak connected on a triple for his first career points as a Leatherneck, making it 43-24.

With just under five minutes to play in regulation, WIU trailed by 23 (58-35) for the third time in the second half. The 23-point Husker lead was Nebraska's largest of the game.

Throughout the final five minutes of the game, though, the Leathernecks continued to battle and finished the game on a 10-4 run, falling to the Huskers 62-47.

Nebraska shot 44% from the field in the contest (32% in the second half), while Western shot 37.8% in the game (43.5% in the second half).

The contest will replay on the Big Ten Network tomorrow (Nov. 13) at 12 p.m. CT. Check your local listings.

Western continues its road swing in California Sunday (Nov. 17) when they play at Pacific. Tip for the Tigers, Leathernecks contest is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT.