Huskers Drop Heartbreaker to KSU

Lincoln -- Tim Ellis’ tip-in with 2.6 seconds remaining gave Kansas State the lead for good, as the Wildcats topped Nebraska, 63-58, Wednesday evening in front of a crowd of 12,106 at the Devaney Center.

Trailing 58-57 with 4.5 seconds remaining, Jeremiah Massey missed both ends of a 1-and-1, but Ellis picked up the loose ball and lofted a soft five-footer to give the Wildcats (12-10, 4-7 Big 12) only their second lead of the evening. Ellis finished with a game-high 25 points including 12-of-12 from the line.

Nebraska had a final opportunity to win in regulation, but John Turek’s inbounds pass was thrown out of bounds before KSU sealed the win with four free throws in the waning seconds. Kansas State, which led for a grand total of 21.6 seconds all night, snapped a 16-game road losing streak and picked up its first road win in the last 22 league road contests.

The Huskers, who dropped to 14-8 overall and 4-7 in league play led by as many as 12 points in the first half and held a 56-51 lead with 2:14 remaining before the Wildcats closed the game on a 11-2 spurt.

Nate Johnson led three Huskers in double figures with 17 points and six assists, while Andrew Drevo and Corey Simms added 10 apiece.

Massey was the only other Wildcat to finish in double figures, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

The Huskers face one of their most difficult challenges of the season on Saturday, Feb. 21, when they travel to Stillwater to take on No. 7 Oklahoma State. Tipoff between the Huskers and Cowboys is set for 7 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Nebraska Postgame Notes
** KSU took a 118-88 series lead with the 63-58 victory tonight. KSU won the regular-season series over Nebraska for the first time since 1997-98. The last season sweep was by Nebraska when it won both regular-season games in 2000-01 before losing to the Wildcats in the Big 12 Tournament.

** Brian Conklin tied season high with seven rebounds , including six in first half. Also had seven boards against Oklahoma.

** Nebraska has led at halftime in 12 of 14 home contests this season, and now owns an 11-2 record in those games.

** NU outrebounded the Wildcats 38-32. It was the 13th time this season NU has outrebounded an opponent. Nebraska is 10-3 when outrebounding its opponent.

** The Huskers were held to 35.8 percent shooting against KSU, only the fourth time this season the Huskers have been held to less than 40 percent from the floor, including twice against the Wildcats. NU also shot below 40 percent against Arizona State and Oklahoma.

** Corey Simms finished the game with 10 points, his most since scoring 12 against Tennessee Dec. 13. Simms added six rebounds, his most since gaining six against Minnesota Dec. 29.

** John Turek had three blocked shots for the second game in a row and now has team high 33 on the season.

** NU held KSU to 63 points, the fifth time in six home conference games this season that NU has held opponents to less than 65 points. No opponent has topped 68 points against the Huskers at home this season.

** Nebraska is now 0-3 in games decided by five points or less this season, and is now 14-1 in games that it led with five minutes remaining.

** The loss snapped NU's three-game conference win streak, its longest since taking four straight league games in 1999.