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Lincoln, Neb.-Western Carolina scored the game's final six points in the last 2:33 to pull off a 74-72 upset of Nebraska in the first round of the Ameritas Classic on Friday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Nebraska trailed the majority of the contest, including an 11-point deficit early in the second half. However, senior forward Larry Florence returned after spraining his left ankle to spark a 12-2 Husker run, to give NU a 72-68 lead with 2:33 to play. Florence scored eight of the 12 NU points in the surge capped by a steal and dunk to give NU a four-point advantage. Unfortunately, the Florence dunk was Nebraska's final basket of the contest.
Catamount guard Casey Rogers hit one of two free throws with 2:11 to play in the half, then Dondrell Whitmore followed by making four straight to give WCU a 73-72 advantage with 1:26 to play. Whitmore missed two foul shots with 11 seconds remaining, but NU guard Danny Walker missed a leaning jumper in the lane. Jonas Hayes then made one of two free throws to give the Cats a two-point edge and a desperation three by Walker at the buzzer was off the mark.
The loss was the first for Nebraska in the Ameritas Classic since the inaugural tournament title game in 1987. Since a loss to Ohio State, Nebraska had won 22 straight games and 11 straight tournament titles.
The loss spoiled a career night for Florence, who scored 27 points, including 19 in the first half. The 6-5 forward sprained his ankle early in the second half and returned to the lineup with about seven minutes to play, leading Nebraska back into the contest. Walker added 16 points for Nebraska, while Steffon Bradford had 13 points and seven rebounds. Nebraska outrebounded Western Carolina 47-28 and held the Catamounts to a 41.7 percent shooting effort. However, Nebraska could not overcome 27 turnovers on the offensive end.
The loss dropped Nebraska to 2-3 on the season. The Huskers take on the loser of tonight's second game between Monmouth and Columbia in Saturday night's consolation game at 6 p.m.