LINCOLN — As you read this, Doc Sadler might still be undergoing treatment for jammed fingers.

Three weeks into the season, Nebraska’s basketball coach has been punching every button possible with his youthful team, trying to jolt it into a sense of urgency.

On Saturday against TCU, Sadler went against some of his long-standing principles by full-court pressing and cranking up the pace offensively.

It worked.

NU pulled away from a tie score with 5:18 left to win 90-77, the most points the Huskers have scored in four years under Sadler. The former high was 88.

“I’ve got to find a way to get this team aggressive, instead of sitting back on their heels and waiting for things to happen,’’ the coach said. “We’ve got to go after people.’’

Why has his team been passive?

“I don’t know if it’s because there are so many new ones and they really don’t know what to expect of themselves or the other person,’’ Sadler said. “But we’re just sitting back and waiting. We can’t do that.’’

At least three Huskers got the message Saturday.

Guard Sek Henry showed that he listened to Sadler’s plea for better senior leadership by producing 11 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.

But it was something not in the statistical line that boosted Henry’s contribution.

“I really tried today to communicate with my players,’’ he said. “When we were having problems, I tried to keep them up. When they made a mistake, I got on their butt.

“They listened. I like that. I’m glad the team respected what I was saying.’’

Guard Brandon Richardson got confirmation that those who practice the hardest will play.

The sophomore hustler, in his first career start, scored 15 points, collected four steals and drilled six straight free throws in the final 1:47.

“Brandon is one of the hardest working guys we’ve got,’’ Sadler said. “From Day One, he has been a hard, hard worker, and he deserves to be out there.’’

Forward Jorge Brian Diaz, who lost his starting spot in part because of missed time for an injury, bounced back to lead all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting.

Coming off the bench, Diaz said, “motivated me to go out there and play hard. I think it helped. I think it woke me up.’’

The game was lively enough to keep the Devaney Center crowd of 6,706 cheering.

In a 44-44 first half, TCU had a 15-point run in 1:55, while Nebraska scored on 11 of 12 possessions in one stretch to turn a three-point deficit into a nine-point lead.

In the second half, the score was tied again at 50, 53, 55, 58, 64, 65 and 67 before Nebraska (2-1) broke free from TCU (2-2), picked to finish seventh in the nine-team Mountain West Conference.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Eshaunte Jones and Ryan Anderson opened a four-point lead, and then NU worked the clock and drew enough fouls to hit 13 of 15 free throws down the stretch.

What turned the game late?

“Our conditioning,’’ Henry said. “And just grinding and getting the ball in the post. Jorge played very, very good tonight. We missed him in St. Louis. It was good to have him down there.’’

Diaz played only four scoreless minutes at Saint Louis after taking an elbow to the mouth that might still cost him his two front teeth.

“I was happy I had a good game,’’ Diaz said. “But I have to thank (my teammates) because my points were pretty much layups because of nice passes from them. I’m happy for everybody.’’

Is Sadler happy?

“I know a lot of people will be talking about how many points we scored,’’ he said. “The frustrating thing — and the scary thing — is knowing how hard we’ve worked on defense, and that’s what we got.’’

Oh, and one other warning from the coach.

“Once we get into league play,’’ Sadler said, “you won’t see all that full-court stuff.’’

• NOTES: Freshman guard Ray Gallegos saw his first action. He played two minutes at the end of the first half, making his only shot — a 3-pointer from the corner. ... This was NU’s third straight game with at least 35 rebounds. Last season, that happened only six times in 31 games. ... Nebraska plays next at home Tuesday night against UMKC (3-0).

Contact the writer:

444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com

TCU (2-2)

FG FT RB PF A Min TP

Buljan 3-11 1-2 8 3 4 34 8

Butler 1-1 2-2 3 5 1 17 4

Moss 6-12 10-14 4 3 5 34 23

Ruzgas 4-7 0-0 0 1 0 36 9

Hill 3-9 4-5 2 3 1 25 11

Roberson 1-2 0-0 0 2 1 5 2

Lancon 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0

Cerina 0-0 0-0 0 5 0 5 0

Mitchem 3-4 3-3 0 2 1 15 9

Green 3-5 4-4 6 4 0 28 11

Totals 24-51 21-27 24 28 13 200 77

3-point shots (8-21) — Mitchem 3-3, Buljan 1-5, Ruzgas 1-4, Hill 1-4, Green 1-2, Moss 1-2, Roberson 0-1.

Team rebounds — 24. Turnovers — 18. Shot percent — 47.1.

NEBRASKA (2-1)

FG FT RB PF A Min TP

Ubel 1-1 3-3 5 2 0 15 5

Richardson 3-7 9-10 4 3 1 25 15

Henry 3-7 4-5 7 1 11 30 11

Jeter 1-4 0-0 4 5 1 25 3

Anderson 4-6 6-7 2 4 2 22 15

Jones 2-7 0-0 2 2 1 27 6

Gallegos 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 3

Diaz 9-10 4-8 4 2 1 30 22

Hankins-Cole 3-6 4-8 4 4 0 12 10

McCray 0-1 0-0 0 0 2 12 0

Nelson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0

Totals 27-50 30-41 35 23 19 200 90

3-point shots (6-13) — Jones 2-5, Henry 1-2, Jeter 1-2, Anderson 1-1, Gallegos 1-1, Richardson 0-1, McCray 0-1.

Team rebounds — 35. Turnovers — 16. Shot percent — 54.0.

TCU.............44 33—77

At Nebraska............44 46—90

A — 6,706 (9,799 paid). Officials — Steve Welmer, Warren Evans, Dan Chrisman.

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