Huskers Fall to Baylor at Big 12 Tournament

Kansas City, Mo. -- Tevis Stukes scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in a 19-0 run midway through the second half as Baylor defeated Nebraska 63-55 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament Thursday afternoon in Kansas City.

The Bears, who improved to 14-14 on the season, advance to meet top-seeded Iowa State in Friday's first quarterfinal, while the Huskers see their season end with an 11-19 record.

Trailing 41-27 with 14 minutes remaining, the Bears connected on five 3-pointers over the next six minutes, including three by Stukes and a pair by Wendell Greenleaf, the second which gave Baylor its first lead of the half at 44-41 with 8:12 remaining.

The Huskers took their last lead of the game at 50-49 on a jumper by Larry Florence at the 3:35 mark before Stukes hit a 3-pointer and was fouled with 3:06 remaining. Stukes converted the free throw and the four-point play gave the Bears a 53-30 lead. In all, the Bears were 9-of-18 from 3-point range in the second half.

A pair of Steffon Bradford free throws closed the BU lead to 53-52, but Baylor, which lost to NU 69-55 earlier this season in Lincoln, put the contest out of reach with a 10-0 run before Danny Walker's 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining provided the final margin.

Sophomore Cary Cochran led Nebraska with 12 points, including four 3-pointers, while Steffon Bradford and Louis Truscott finished with 10 points each.