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Carter's shooting leads Texas A&M past Nebraska

Feb 11, 2007 - 4:59 AM LINCOLN, Nebraska (Ticker) -- Josh Carter showed Nebraska just how much he's grown up.

Carter made eight 3-pointers and matched a career high with 26 points as No. 7 Texas A&M posted a 66-55 victory over Nebraska in a Big 12 Conference matchup.

In his freshman season, Carter failed to score in the Aggies' 66-55 victory over the Cornhuskers last February 25. However, he is now a much different player as a sophomore.

Carter, who entered as one of the nation's top 3-point shooters, took advantage of a lackluster zone 1-3-1 defense played by the Cornhuskers to drill six 3-pointers in the first half, which ended with the Aggies holding a 32-24 lead. He made his only two attempts in the second half, finishing 8-of-11 from the arc.

"I can tell when I'm feeling it," said Carter, who is shooting 52 percent (66-of-128) from the arc on the season. "Today at the shootaround I was shooting it pretty good, and they told me this is a shooter's gym. When I make a few early, I get a lot of confidence, so I just keep shooting."

"With the size they have, you are either going to give up perimeter shots or you're going to give up the inside game," Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. "We went into the game knowing one guy can shoot the basketball, and that's Josh Carter."

The big night by Carter helped the Aggies make up for a quiet game from leading scorer Acie Law IV, who was limited to just nine points on 2-of-7 shooting.

Law did have one of the game's biggest baskets, a 3-pointer with 3:11 remaining which gave the Aggies a 60-51 lead.

Joseph Jones scored 11 points and Dominique Kirk 10 for Texas A&M (21-3, 9-1), which remained one game in front of Kansas for the conference lead. The Aggies have won five straight and 14 of their last 15 games.

The Aggies also continued to get it done with defense as they held an opponent under 50 percent shooting for the 35th straight time. The Cornhuskers shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56).

At one point in the first half, the Aggies held the Cornhuskers scoreless for nearly eight minutes. They used a 9-0 run to close the first half take the lead for good.

Texas A&M shot 43 percent (23-of-54) and held a 40-29 rebounding advantage.

Carter's 3-pointer with under 13 minutes remaining gave the Aggies their biggest lead at 45-31.

Aleks Maric finished with 15 points to pace Nebraska (14-9, 3-6), which lost for the sixth time in nine games.