Senior guard Cookie Belcher
scored a career-high 29 points and tied a Nebraska record for three-pointers,
but the effort wasn't enough, as the Huskers fell to No. 10/11 Kansas,
78-74, here Sunday in Big 12 action.
Nebraska (13-14, 6-8 Big
12) fell behind by 12 points with 11:43 to play in the second half
before Belcher caught fire from behind the arc. The Mexico, Mo., native
hit three-pointers on consecutive trips down the court to make it
a six-point deficit, before KU's Kenny Gregory hit back-to-back three-pointers
of his own to put the lead back up to 10, 61-51, with just over eight
minutes to play.
Junior guard Cary Cochran
then hit three treys in just under three minutes to cut the lead to
five, 67-62. The Huskers then slowly pulled back within three, 74-71,
as Belcher connected on a jumper with 47 seconds remaining. Nick Collison,
who led the Jayhawks with 22 points and five blocked shots, was then
fouled and hit the first of his free throws to make it a four-point
game.
On the ensuing free throw,
Collison missed it short and Kirk Hinrich grabbed the rebound to keep
Kansas (21-5, 10-4) in control. Hinrich was fouled with 13 ticks left
on the clock and, just like Collison, hit the first and missed the
second, with Collison getting the rebound to keep possession in KU's
favor. Hinrich was then fouled and hit a pair of shots to give Kansas
a seven-point cushion.
With just eight seconds
remaining, the Huskers moved the ball up the court and got it to Belcher
on the wing, where he drained his seventh three-pointer of the game
to get NU back within four, 78-74, but that was all the Huskers could
manage. The seven treys tied a Nebraska single-game record set by
Chris Cresswell in 1991 and Cochran in 1999, while setting a new mark
for three-pointers made against a conference opponent.
Belcher's hot shooting
in the first half kept NU in the game, as the Huskers trailed by just
five, 36-31, at the intermission. Belcher opened the game with a trey
at the 19:17 mark to give NU a 3-2 lead before finishing with 14 points
at the break. The lead changed 13 times in the game, all in the first
half, as KU took the lead for good when Gregory hit a three-pointer
with 3:54 to play before the break.
Along with his career-high
scoring effort, Belcher added four steals on the day, moving into
sole possession of fourth place on the NCAA career steals list. He
now has 346 career steals, and needs just two more to take over third
place.
Joining Belcher, senior
Kimani Ffriend collected his eighth double-double of the conference
season, and ninth overall of the year, as he had 11 points and 11
rebounds for the Huskers. Senior Steffon Bradford nearly joined Ffriend
in the double-double category, as Bradford had 12 poitns and nine
rebounds, while Cochran finished with 14 points and four assists.
Nebraska hit just 40.3
percent from the floor -- including a lethargic 31.3 percent in the
first half -- for its worst shooting performance in 14 games, and
fourth-lowest percentage of the season. The Huskers added at least
18 assists for a fourth straight game, while tying the season low
for turnovers with 12.
Collison led KU with 22
points, while Hinrich nearly had a triple-double, as he finished with
20 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Gregory added 16 points
and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Huskers will be back
in action on Wednesday, Feb. 28, as NU plays host to Texas A&M
at the Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers and Aggies will tip off
at 7:05 p.m., and the game will mark the last home contest for five
NU basketball seniors.
Source: University of Nebraska Sports Information
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