Pirate Galaxy » off.TRAINERS ROOMBraves: Atla

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska opened up a 22-point lead in the first half, then watched South Dakota cut that lead to two before the Huskers were able to turn back the upset bid 73-61 on Saturday.I was really proud of our guys to perform down the stretch, said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. South Dakota competed really hard and really, I thought, out-competed us the second half. When you get punched in the mouth, you cant look at that and say `Oh gee, whats going on, do I have any teeth left? Youve just got to swallow them, spit the blood out and keep battling.Nebraska (5-3) hit 10 of its first 15 shots, 4 of 7 from 3-point range, while the Husker defense stifled South Dakota (6-4). The Coyotes hit just 2 of their first 11 shots and turned the ball over six times in the game-opening stretch that saw Nebraska lead 26-4 with 11:23 left in the first half.We looked like Edward Scissorhands out there for the first eight minutes or so -- a lot of turnovers, just driving in there and playing volleyball, throwing it up there and seeing what happened, said South Dakota coach Craig Smith We had to adjust and once we finally kind of settled in, I really liked we saw our of team. I thought we had great resolve. Im proud of how we played when we got down 22 in a hostile environment.Nebraska led 41-21 on Jack McVeighs 3-pointer with 2:53 left in the half, but the Huskers hit just one field goal and a pair of free throws the rest of the half and the Coyotes trailed 45-31 at halftime.The Huskers made 5 of 16 shots against South Dakotas zone defense to open the second half and turned the ball over eight times. Nebraska hit 33 percent of its shots in the second half.Credit to them, said Nebraska forward Michael Jacobsen. They definitely switched defenses and pressed and did some things that kind of got us on our heels and out of our attack mindset, which I thought was pretty good at the outset of the game.Credit to them, no doubt. They definitely switched defenses and pressed and did some things that kind of got us on our heels and out of our attack mindset, which I thought was pretty good at the outset of the game.Trailing 56-42 in the second half, the Coyotes went on a 12-0 run, cutting the Husker lead to two on Matt Mooneys layup with 7:30 left. Nebraskas Tai Webster countered with a 3-pointer to push the lead back to five and McVeighs 3 with 2:45 left made it 67-58.McVeigh finished with 16 points and made 4 of 9 from behind the arc.McVeigh hit some big shots in the second half, Smith said. He got a groove going, exactly what he needed early on, hit three 3s in the first half and started feeling it. Then hit a couple big 3s in the second half when we were in the midst of a big-time run. Coach (Miles) has been upfront and honest about it, theyve got to make some threes that way.Webster scored 12 points with three 3s for Nebraska and Michael Jacobson added 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.BIG PICTURENebraska: Saturdays contest against South Dakota was a breather in the Huskers challenging pre-conference schedule. Nebraska played No. 11 UCLA the Friday after Thanksgiving, traveled to Clemson last week and will face No. 10 Creighton and No. 4 Kansas in its next two games.South Dakota: South Dakota, which has four players on its roster from the state of Nebraska, is off to its best start since joining NCAA Division 1 in 2008.POSTGAME COMEDYSmith was an assistant with Miles at four different schools, including Nebraska, before taking the South Dakota job two years ago. They did the postgame press conference together, turning it into a comedy act.I figured if we didnt do a joint press conference Id never get him out of here, Miles said opening the press conference.Im surprised you let me talk, Smith replied. In 11 years, I didnt say a whole lot.I had a lot of answers, Miles said.UP NEXTNebraska will host in-state rival Creighton WednesdaySouth Dakota will return to Vermillion to host Montana State Wednesday.Custom San Jose Sharks Jerseys .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Kevin Labanc Jersey . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/timo-meier-jersey/ . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Tomas Hertl Sharks Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Logan Couture Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch.PHOENIX -- Brandon Drury came out of high school thinking he might help the Atlanta Braves win games one day. He did just the opposite Wednesday night.Drury drove in Jake Lamb with a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, giving the Arizona Diamondbacks a 10-9 win over the Braves.The Diamondbacks loaded the bases with a double, a hit batter and an intentional walk against reliever Jose Ramirez (2-1). Matt Kemp dived to catch Drurys sinking liner to left but couldnt get off a good throw to stop Lamb.Drury was a 13th round pick by the Braves in 2010 and traded to Arizona in 2013 in a package for Justin Upton.I was just looking for a fastball. They said his slider was pretty small, and I just trusted that I would pick it up. I didnt hit it that hard, but I go the job done and helped the team win, Drury said.The Braves rallied from a 9-4 deficit in the eighth to tie it 9-9 with four runs in the ninth. Adonis Garcia led off the ninth with a home run and the next five Braves reached base.Atlanta stranded runners on second and third, though, and the game went to extras. They also loaded the bases in the 10th.Former starter Patrick Corbin (5-13) pitched two scoreless innings in relief to earn the win.Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke struck out five and reached 2,000 for his career. Greinke pitched six innings and allowed four runs, six hits and three walks in his first home start since June 28. He left that outing with a strained left oblique and went on the disabled list for more than a month.Greinke, 32, became the 78th pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts, fanning Freddie Freeman to start the fourth for the milestone.I dont really think about it at the moment. It is a pretty big number, Greinke said. It was a good pitch. I stopped making good pitches after that one pretty much.For the Diamondbacks, Welington Castillo drove in three runs with a double and a two-run single. Paul Goldschmidt and Lamb hit two-run home runs and Jean Seguras solo home run in the fifth was his 12th of the season, tying his season high from 2013.Goldschmidt became the third first baseman since 1974 to record 20 doubles, 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in consecutive seasons, along with Jeff Bagwell in 1996-97 and Ryan Klesko in 2000-01.Seguras homer landed just to the left of the 413-foot sign in left-center field. Lambs was his 25th of the season. Michael Bourn tripled twice as part of a four-hit night and gave Arizona 50 triples this season, a franchise record.Bourn and Goldschmidt combined to score six of the Diamondbacks runs. The two tteams combined for 32 hits.ddddddddddddnder Inciarte had four hits for the Braves and Nick Markakis and Tyler Flowers each had three. Julio Teheran (3-10) pitched six innings, allowing six runs and 11 hits with four strikeouts. Atlanta has lost nine of 11 games.We had a legit chance to win against one of the better pitchers in baseball, and its a tough one to lose, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. It was right there in front of us, it felt like, coming back like we did in the ninth. But we werent able to pull it off.BRAVES DEAL FRANCOEURAtlanta completed a three-team trade involving the Texas Rangers and Miami Marlins, with the Braves sending veteran outfielder Jeff Francoeur to the Marlins.Francoeur was the only major leaguer involved and was dealt along with cash considerations. Atlanta acquired minor league shortstop Dylan Moore from Texas and minor league catcher Matt Foley from Miami.Francoeur hit .249 with seven home runs and 33 RBI in 99 games for the Braves. The 32-year-old plays left field and right field and is known for a strong arm. He was seen in the Braves dugout saying goodbye to coaches and teammates early in Wednesdays game.Snitker said infielder Brandon Snyder will be called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to be added to the roster in place of Francoeur.UMP STRUCKSecond base umpire Alfonso Marquez was hit on the right hip by Freemans line drive in the seventh. He stayed in the game after walking it off.TRAINERS ROOMBraves: Atlanta was expected to place pitcher Rob Whalen on the disabled list with right shoulder fatigue, but he was active Wednesday and grounded into a fielders choice to end the top of the 10th as a pinch-hitter. He was put on the DL after the game.Diamondbacks: OF Yasmany Tomas was held out due to back stiffness, a night after being taken out of the game in the eighth inning with the injury. He was on deck during Drurys sac fly. ... OF A.J. Pollocks season debut with Arizona is set for Friday. Hes back from a fractured right elbow and played in his 11th rehab game Tuesday night.UP NEXTBraves: RHP Matt Wisler was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Thursdays game against Arizona. Wisler is 4-11 in 20 starts for Atlanta this season.Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray is coming off a week in which he went 2-0 and struck out 18 to earn the NL Player of the Week honor, and brings a 7-11 overall mark to his start against Atlanta on Thursday. ' ' '