OKLAHOMA CITY -- Senior first baseman Dan Johnson knocked out his 23rd and 24th home runs of the season, leading third-ranked Nebraska to its third consecutive Big 12 Tournament title, defeating Texas A&M, 7-4, at the Bricktown Ballpark on Sunday.

Coupled with its first regular season conference title in 51 years, NU, which improved to 45-14 on the season, becomes the first team in Big 12 history to win both the regular season and tournament crowns in the same season.

"It was nice to win both titles," Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. "The team really wanted to come down here and win both. We were coming off two losses and for us to win three straight titles makes its extra special."

Johnson's fourth and fifth homers of the tournament set a Big 12 tournament record and earned him Outstanding Player honors. Johnson was joined on the All-Tournament Team by outfielder/second baseman John Cole, designated hitter Matt Hopper and pitcher Shane Komine.

Johnson, who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs against Texas A&M, hit two-run homers in the third and fifth innings and scored an insurance run in the eighth inning, as he recorded his sixth multi-homer game of the season and second in as many days. During the tournament, the senior from Coon Rapids, Minn., batted .562 with a 1.562 slugging percentage, belting five homers and 13 RBIs as NU improved to 13-1 in Big 12 tournament games.

Hopper, Cole and junior third baseman Jeff Blevins also had two hits apiece, as the Huskers pounded out 13 hits in the win.

Junior right-hander R.D. Spiehs set the tone for the Huskers by going 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, while striking out a career-high 11 batter to earn his second win of the tournament. The Grand Island, Neb., earned the win in NU's opening-round victory on Wednesday over Iowa State and is now 7-3 on the season.

The Aggies, who fall to 33-27 with the loss, and Huskers traded runs in the first inning. David Evans started the inning off with a single and moved to second on Erik Schindewolf's sacrifice before scoring on Neal Stephenson's two-out RBI single to right. NU came right back in the bottom half of the inning, stringing together three hits, including consecutive singles by Adam Stern and Hopper before Blevins' RBI double to left knotted the score at 1-1.

In the third, Jeff Freeman's RBI double plated Eric Schindewolf to give A&M a 2-1 lead before the Huskers regained the lead in the bottom of the frame, as Hopper singled before Johnson smashed a two-run shot to right off A&M starter Kyle Parcus, who took the loss, falling to 3-2 on the year.

The fifth inning again saw NU allow one run in the top half before coming back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. A two-out RBI single by Freeman, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, scored Greg Porter from second to tie the game at 3-3. NU took the lead back for good after Johnson hammered out his second two-run homer of day, this time to straight away center, extending the Husker lead to 5-3.

A&M trimmed the margin to 5-4 in the top of the seventh on Evans' solo homer off Spiehs, but the Huskers responded again, scoring two in the bottom of the inning off Aggie reliever Chris Russ on an RBI single by senior Josh Hesse before Blevins scored from third on a passed ball.

The three-run lead would be more than enough, as Thom Ott threw two scoreless innings of relief to pick up his 10th save of the season, tying NU's single-season record held by Mike Bellows in 1994.

The Huskers, who are now 13-1 all-time in Big 12 Tournament play, return to Lincoln later this evening and begin preparations for next weekend's NCAA regional at Buck Beltzer Field. On Monday, the Huskers will watch the NCAA selection show (2 p.m. CDT) from the Fox and Hound, located in the Haymarket District (201 N. 8th Street) and KLIN will broadcast live from 2 to 3 p.m. The event is open to the public.