Lincoln-Nebraska played 17th-ranked Minnesota close, but the Huskers converted on just 25 percent of their shots in a 55-51 loss to Minnesota in front of 8,313 fans at the Devaney Center Saturday night.

Nebraska, which fell to 6-4 on the season, pulled to 53-50 with 45.9 seconds left on a pair of Cookie Belcher free throws, but could not tie the score as Cary Cochran missed a 3-point try on the Huskers' next possession. Nebraska did not convert a shot during the final three minutes and struggled from the floor all evening, converting just 14 of 55 shots from the floor. The 25.5 percent performance was the lowest under Coach Danny Nee and set a Bob Devaney Sports Center record.

Trailing 48-40, Cochran, a redshirt freshman, connected on a pair of 3-pointers to cut the Minnesota lead to 49-46 with 3:48 remaining. The three-point margin was the closest the Huskers would get in the final 13 minutes.

Trailing 31-24, Belcher sparked a 8-0 run as the took their only lead of the second half at 32-31. Belcher scored four of his 14 points, including a dunk over UM's 7-1 center Joe Przybilla.

Belcher led Nebraska with 14 points, while senior guard Troy Piatkowski finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, off the bench. Huskers center Venson Hamilton had 15 rebounds but shot 0-for-9 from the field and finished with four points.Quincy Lewis had 15 points and 10 rebounds and was the only Golden Gopher in double figures. Minnesota committed a season-high 24 turnovers and shot just 12-of-25 from the foul line, but improved to 7-1 with the win

The Huskers travel to San Francisco to face the Dons on Dec. 27.
Post Game Quotes

Nebraska Head Coach Danny Nee
ON THE GAME
We had an opportunity tonight for a win. If we could make some shots, we'd be O.K. But when you shoot 25%, and are still in the game, at least you know you had the right game plan.

ON NU's DEFENSE
We played good enough defense to win tonight. I mean Minnesota had 24 turnovers. Our half court traps worked really well, but we just need to shoot the ball better.

ON MINNESOTA'S DEFENSE
Minnesota is a good defensive team. Przybilla really affected some shots and caused a lot of problems for us down in the paint.

Nebraska Player Quotes
Troy Piatkowski
"Things didn't go our way, but things also didn't go their way and that kept us in the ballgame. We had a lot of good shots, but they just weren't falling.

On Minnesota's defense: "They are a really big team. I think that's what hurt us. They were able to push us out when they were in a zone."

Minnesota Head Coach Clem Haskins
ON THE GAME
There's always some positives in a game like this, win or lose. This is probably an ugly win. But we're 7-1 now and we just want to get as many (wins) as possible. A month from now, people won't remember the 24 turnovers or the 13 missed free throws. They'll just remember the win.

ON MINNESOTA'S TURNOVERS
There were several unforced errors in the game and we didn't handle their pressure as well as we would have liked. But give Nebraska all the credit. They did a good job with their zone defense. We didn't do a good job of recognizing their defense.

Nebraska Postgame Notes
Nebraska's 25.5 percent shooting is its lowest in 13 seasons under Danny Nee and the lowest for Nebraska in 347 all-time games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center