Nebraska Gets Past Oklahoma State in Overtime

LINCOLN -- Senior guard Cookie Belcher tied his career high with 27 points, including 18 in the first half, as Nebraska needed overtime to hold off Oklahoma State, 78-75, here Wednesday.

The Huskers (11-11, 4-5 Big 12) held a 24-19 lead with seven minutes to play in the first half before OSU (14-5, 5-3 Big 12) went on an 11-0 run to take a 30-24 lead with 4:37 left before halftime. Belcher then sparked a 14-3 run to end the half, which gave NU a 40-33 lead at the intermission. Belcher had 11 of the Huskers' 14 points in the run, including three three-pointers.

Following the break, the back-and-forth battle continued, as each team made and answered runs. NU started with a 7-2 burst to give the Huskers a 47-35 lead less than three minutes into the second half before OSU stormed back to take a two-point advantage, 55-53, on Maurice Baker's three-pointer with 8:25 left on the clock. Baker led OSU in scoring, as he had 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting from the floor.

Senior forward Kimani Ffriend then put Nebraska back on top with a dunk at the 7:54 mark, giving NU a 56-55 lead. The Huskers increased the lead to seven, 67-60, with over three minutes to play before OSU's Melvin Sanders had five points, an assist and a key rebound to get the Cowboys back within one, 69-68, with 1:04 remaining. Andre Williams then slipped into the paint for a dunk with 19 seconds left to tie it at 70-70 and, after a NU turnover with five seconds to go, sent the game to overtime.

OSU - which was playing its first road game since the Jan. 27 plane crash which claimed the lives of all 10 people on board, including two players - took the early lead on a pair of free throws by Sanders, but Ffriend tied the game with a tip-in. Junior guard Cary Cochran then hit 2-of-4 free throws down the stretch and Belcher stole the Cowboys' final inbounds pass with two seconds left to seal the victory.

Belcher finished with a game- and career-high 27 points, while adding a career-high eight steals, which moved him into eighth place on the NCAA all-time career steals list. The Mexico, Mo. native also added a season-high seven assists and six rebounds in the effort. Ffriend finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, after not scoring in the Huskers' last game, while Cochran had 14 points, including hitting 4-of-4 from behind the arc.

"This was a hard-fought game," said first-year Husker head coach Barry Collier. "I'm really impressed with Oklahoma State and the different ways they can attack. We made too many errors, but we were fortunate our defense was as strong as it was.

"I thought Cookie was aggressive, especially in the first half. He got on a role with great confidence. He was seeking the ball and was shooting well. Credit him with a hot hand."

Nebraska will next play at Baylor on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. The game will be seen on FOX Sports Net Southwest and can be heard in Nebraska on the Pinnacle Sports Network and huskers.com.

Nebraska Postgame Notes vs. Oklahoma State
*-Cookie Belcher tied several season and career highs in tonight's overtime victory. He tied his career high with 27 points (also against Oral Roberts and Eastern Illinois earlier this season) and equaled his collegiate best with eight steals (also against Texas Tech on 2/20/1999). He has seven 20-point games this season, including three in the past four games. He also moved into sole possession of ninth place on NU scoring charts, passing Venson Hamilton (1,416 points from 1996-99). He was 9 of 13 from the floor, including a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the 3-point range, tying a career high. He has averaged 21.3 points per game over the past four contests. The Mexico, Mo., native moved into third place on NU's career assist charts with his team-high seven assists (also tying a season high set against UMKC on 12/9/00), passing Tyronn Lue, who had 432 assists from 1996-98.

*- In addition to his offensive effort, Belcher also moved into the top 10 of the NCAA career steals list with his career-high tying eight thefts this evening. He also had eight at Texas Tech (2/20/99) as a junior two seasons ago, eclipsing his previous season high of six against Iona on Dec. 20. He moved past Chris Corchiani of N.C. State (328), Greg Anthony of UNLV (329), Jason Hart of Syracuse (329) and Keith Jennings of East Tennessee State (334) for eighth place on NCAA career steals lists. He now has 336 career steals and needs eight more to break into the top five all time.

*- NU's win against the Cowboys ends a two-game losing streak against OSU, dating back to a 67-62 victory in Stillwater in the 1997-98 season. It is NU's first win in Lincoln against Oklahoma State since the 1996-97 season.

*- Nebraska improves to 1-1 in overtime games this season, falling at Minnesota, 74-70, on Dec. 27 and to 5-6 in games decided by four points or less during the 2000-01 season.

*-NU established season highs in both assists (20) and turnovers (25), while also tied a season high with 15 steals. Previous highs were 18 assists (six times this season); 24 turnovers at Missouri (1/6) and 15 steals against Murray State (12/30).

*- NU has held 18 of its 22 opponents under 50 percent shooting from the floor, including three of the past four under 42 percent. The Huskers also improve to 3-7 in game where they are held under 50 percent. The Huskers also out-rebounded OSU, 42-31.

*-With his four three-pointers this evening, Cary Cochran has now connected on at least one three-pointer in 15 consecutive games, and in 26 of the past 27 contests dating back to last season.

*- Led by Belcher and Cochran, who combined for all eight of NU's three pointers, the Huskers shot better than 50 percent from the three-point line for the seventh time this season.

*- Nebraska's 40 first-half points was NU's best total since scoring 40 points against Kent State on Dec. 21, 2000. It marks just the fifth time this season the Huskers have scored 40 or more points in a half this season.

*- John Robinson set a NU career best with five assists, topping his previous high of three (at Missouri and vs. Colorado), while Wilson Thomas established a career high with his six rebounds, tripling his previous best of two (set on four occasions)

*- Brian Conklin earned the second start of his Husker career against the Cowboys this evening. He also started the season opener against Oral Roberts. He finished the evening with eight points, four rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocked shots in 27 minutes.

Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State
Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2001

Nebraska Head Coach Barry Collier
ON THE GAME OVERALL:
"I'm excited and a little drained. This was a very hard-fought game. I'm really impressed with Oklahoma State and the different ways they can attack. We made just an unbelievable amount of errors. We were fortunate our defense was as strong as it was."

ON BOTH TEAM'S MENTAL GAME:
"I thought our guys did a good job of just trying to play and I think their guys did too. I have great admiration for their team to battle the way they did. They could have easily cracked, as any team could have, especially with what they've been through."

ON COOKIE BELCHER'S FIRST-HALF PLAY:
"I thought he was aggressive in the first half. He got on a role with great confidence. He was seeking the ball. He was on a roll shooting. Credit him with a hot hand."

Oklahoma Head Coach Eddie Sutton
ON THE GAME OVERALL
"I thought at the beginning of the ballgame that we had nothing in our gas tank. Then we sparked out. At halftime, I was really concerned. Our guys looked beaten, but we fought back and had a chance to win the game."

ON THE TEAM'S ENDURANCE:
"I thought this afternoon - at the pregame meal and in the shoot-around - that we were in pretty good shape. That game Monday night took a lot out of us. I don't want to make excuses. We had a chance to win. At the end of regulation we had a chance and couldn't make the play."

ON THE PLAY OF FREDRICK JONZEN AND ANDRE WILLIAMS:
"When Fred and Andre don't play well, it's tough to win. We depend too much on those guys."