Huskers Take Cowboys to Overtime

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Nebraska shot nearly 67 percent from the field in the second half and forced the game into overtime on Nate Johnson's conventional three-point play with seven seconds remaining regulation, but No. 7 Oklahoma State's Joey Graham continued his hot hand in the extra period to lead the Cowboys to an 87-83 overtime victory Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Graham, who scored 30 of his game-high 36 points in the second half and overtime, helped OSU remain undefeated at home while improving to 21-2 overall and 11-1 in league action. The loss dropped NU to 14-9 on the season and 4-8 in conference play.

After a late surge gave OSU a three-point advantage at the intermission, both teams came out of halftime on fire. Nebraska missed its first shot and then converted on four straight, including a pair of baskets by Johnson.

But the Cowboys were equally as impressive, as the top-rated field-goal shooting team in the nation hit six straight after missing its first attempt and held a 43-38 lead with 13:26 to play. Graham nailed four of the baskets for the Cowboys before hitting 9-of-14 attempts from the floor in the second period.

Nebraska used a 5-0 run in less than 30 seconds to knot the score at 43-all, one of 16 ties in the contest. Forward John Turek pulled NU within three with a pair of free throws at the 13:26 mark and forward Wes Wilkinson, who played 15 minutes in the game after seeing just 14 minutes of action in the past seven games, then hit a three-pointer to tie the contest. Wilkinson finished the game with five points and two blocked shots in his best performance in conference play this season.

OSU used an 8-1 run over the next three minutes to open its biggest lead of the game at eight points, 52-44 on a Graham three-pointer with 10:11 to play. Turek then drilled a jumper and started a 13-4 Nebraska run. The Huskers went on to hit seven straight field goals over the next five minutes to tie the score at 59-59 on an Andrew Drevo jumper with 5:09 remaining.

Guard Marcus Neal Jr. then hit a long three-pointer to give NU a 64-62 lead with 2:36 to play. Neal scored eight points in the final three minutes of regulation to keep Nebraska within striking distance, including an acrobatic trey with 15 seconds left to pull Nebraska within two, 73-71. The Cowboys' Tony Allen then hit the first of two free throws with nine ticks left on the clock to make it a three-point contest. Johnson then drove the left side of the baseline and flipped in a reverse layup and converted the foul shot to tie the game at 74-all with seven seconds left. John Lucas' three-pointer was off the mark for the Cowboys and Allen rebounded but his tip-in attempt was off the mark, sending Nebraska into its first overtime contest of the year.

In the extra session, Neal scored the Huskers' first five points on a pair of foul shots and a three-pointer to tie the score at 81-81. After Turek hit a jumper to give Nebraska an 81-79 lead with 2:34 to play, OSU outscored the Huskers 8-2 down the stretch, hitting six of seven free throws to seal the victory.

Drevo, who lead Nebraska with eight points in the opening period, led four Huskers in double figures with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Johnson added 18 points, while Neal had 13 and Turek collected 10.

Nebraska hit 53.6 percent from the floor while holding OSU, which entered the game hitting nearly 53 percent from the field this season, to 42.3 percent shooting, including 26.3 percent from beyond the arc. Freshman Charles Richardson Jr. had a team-high six rebounds for the Husker, although NU was outrebounded 41-33, including an 18-7 deficit on the offensive glass. Richardson also had three assists, as the Huskers collected 18 assists as a team.

The Huskers return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 24, when they play host to nationally ranked Texas Tech at the Devaney Center. Tip off is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com.

Nebraska postgame notes
 ** Two of the last four meetings between Nebraska and Oklahoma State have gone into overtime with the home team winning each time. NU also won 78-75 in overtime in 2001. NU still leads the series by a 59-49 advantage.

** The Huskers topped the 80-point plateau for the second straight road game, the first time NU scored at least 80 points in back-to-back road league contests since the 1993-94 season.

** The Huskers hit 53.6 percent from the field in the game, the eighth time this season Nebraska has hit at least 50 percent from the field. NU now owns a 7-1 record this year when hitting at least 50 percent from the floor.

** Nebraska hit 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the floor in the second period, its best field-goal percent for any half on the road this season. It was the sixth time this year Nebraska hit at least 60.0 percent in a half, an the first on the road.

** The contest was NU's first overtime game of the season. The loss snapped a streak of five straight overtime victories for the Huskers. Nebraska is now 5-2 under Coach Collier in overtime.

** Freshman Charles Richardson Jr. tied his career high with six rebounds, including his second offensive rebound of the season. Nebraska was outrebounded 41-33 in the contest. Richardson added three assists, one of three Huskers with three assists in the game. NU finished with 18 assists, its second straight road game with at least 18 assists.

** Senior Andrew Drevo led Nebraska with 21 points, his third 20-point performance of the season and second in conference play. Drevo hit 8-of-10 attempts from the field while adding five rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot.

** Senior Brian Conklin, who leads the league in three-point field-goal percentage, was held without a three-pointer for only the third time this season, as he went 0-for-1 from long range. Conklin finished with three points, three rebounds and three assists without a turnover.

** Nebraska allowed a 30-point scorer for the first time in 60 games, since Kareem Rush had 30 points for Missouri on Feb. 13, 2002. Joey Graham led the Cowboys with 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, including 3-of-3 from long range, while making 9-of-11 attempts from the charity stripe.

** Sophomore Wes Wilkinson played 15 minutes against OSU, scoring five points while adding a rebound and two blocks. Wilkinson had played 14 minutes in the past seven games combined, scoring two points with two rebounds and one block.