Lincoln -- Michael Jackson scored a game-high 27 points to lift UMKC to an 82-71 victory over Nebraska in the first round of the Husker Team Classic Friday evening at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Jackson was 11-of-17 shooting from the floor and added five rebounds, as the Kangaroos won their fourth straight game, improving to 4-4 on the season, and defeated Nebraska for the first time in 11 meetings.

UMKC will meet Pacific, a 94-58, winner over Alaska-Fairbanks, Saturday evening at 8:15 p.m., while the Huskers, who dropped to 2-3 on the season, will meet Alaska-Fairbanks in the third-place game Saturday at 6 p.m.

UMKC scored the game's first seven points and never trailed in handing Nebraska only its third loss in the 14-year history of the Husker Team Classic.

Trailing 57-49, NU power forward Steffon Bradford scored five of his team-high 17 points in a 7-0 run, cutting the Kangaroo lead to 57-56 with 6:54 remaining, but UMKC ended all hopes for a Husker comeback, as Michael Watson triggered a 14-2 Kangaroo run with a pair of 3-pointers, giving UMKC an insermountable 71-58 lead with under three minutes remaining.

Watson finished with 12 points, including 4-of-12 from 3-point range, while Javin Tindell added 17 points for the winners.

Bradford and Cookie Belcher led four Huskers in double figures with 17 points apiece. Bradford was 7-of-9 from the field, but was just 3-of-10 shooting from the foul line, as the Huskers shot just 34.8 percent from the free throw line.

Kimani Ffriend finished with 16 points and blocked four shots, while Cary Cochran added 15 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Huskers, who have lost two straight.

Postgame Notes
*- Tonight's loss is the first in 11 meetings against UMKC, dating back to 1982
*- After winning 12 straight opening round contests in the Husker Team Classic, Nebraska has lost the last two. NU is 24-3 in the tournament's 14-year history.
*- Nebraska lost at home for the first time since an 83-58 loss to Kansas on Feb. 23,2000.
*- Tonight's loss drops the Huskers to a 2-3 start for the second straight season.
*-Cary Cochran connected on a season-high five 3-pointers, the most since he had five at Kansas on Jan. 15, 2000. Cochran has recorded at least two 3-pointers in each of the last six games and extends his streak of at least one 3-pointer to 12 straight games.
*- With 17 points, Cookie Belcher reached double figures in scoring for the fifth straight game. He also moved into 17th place on Nebraska scoring charts with 1,160 points, passing Brian Banks (1,150 points from 1976-79). Belcher also had a season-high seven assists, the most by any Husker this season.
*- Nebraska shot 51.8 percent (29-56) from the floor, marking the fourth time in five games and the third time in three home contests that the Huskers have shot 50 percent or better from the floor.
*- Nebraska was just 5-of-16 (34.8 percent) from the foul line, the second time this year that Nebraska shot below 35 percent from the line this season. Nebraska is just 12-of-38 (31.7 percent) from the line in its last two home games.
*- With 17 points, Kimani Ffiend reached double figures for the fourth straight game. Ffriend also had four blocked shots, becoming just the fifth player in school history to block 100 or more shots in a career. He has 101 blocked shots in the past two seasons.
*- Nebraska had four players finishe in double figures for the first time since Feb. 5, 2000, against Missouri (L, 78-84).
*- Nebraska committed 20 turnovers for the second time this season.

Nebraska Head Coach Barry Collier
On UMKC
"I thought Kansas City played extremely well and were coached very well. We were just not prepared mentally or prepared enough in order to attack their style and get after them."

On the Huskers play