Huskers Edge ISU, 68-65, on Senior Day

Lincoln -- Junior Jake Muhleisen forced a turnover with 27 seconds remaining and senior Nate Johnson scored the go-ahead basket just seconds later, as Nebraska rallied from three points down with 39 seconds to play for an exciting 68-65 victory over Big 12 rival Iowa State in front of 11,135 fans at the Devaney Center Saturday.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 16-9 overall (6-8 in Big 12) while winning for the fifth time in the past seven games. Iowa State dropped to 15-10 overall (6-8 in Big 12) while dropping its 24th consecutive conference road game.

Much like the past seven years, the final outcome was not decided until the waning seconds. Ten of the past 13 Nebraska-Iowa State matchups in the Devaney Center have been decided by six points or less, including the past five straight. Overall, the last three Husker-Cyclone contests in Lincoln have been decided by a combined 11 points, with one (2001) heading into overtime. Last year, NU took a 69-63 victory over the Cyclones on Senior Day.

Playing in front of its fourth straight crowd of 10,000-plus, Nebraska struggled down the stretch before Johnson's heroics lifted NU to its 14th home victory of the season.

After Muhlesien pulled the Huskers within one at 63-62 with 2:21 to play, the Huskers missed two free throws and two field-goal attempts over the next two minutes as ISU pulled ahead by three, 65-62, with 39 seconds to play on a Curtis Stinson jumper in the lane. Stinson, the frontrunner for Big 12 Freshman of the Year, then fouled Muhleisen on the Huskers' next possession and the Lincoln native hit both shots to pull the Huskers within one, 65-64, with 30 seconds to play.

After a Husker timeout, Muhleisen pressured ISU's Jake Sullivan, who was trying to receive the inbounds pass. The ball hit off Sullivan's lower leg and went out of bounds, giving the Huskers a the ball with nearly 30 seconds to play.

Johnson would not need anywhere near all of the clock to lift the Huskers, as he received the inbounds and immediately drove the lane before letting flly with a one-handed runner off the glass that fell in and put Nebraska ahead by one, 66-65, with 25 ticks left on the clock. ISU then brought the ball down court and Will Blalock's runner on the baseline came up short, but Stinson was there to pick up the rebound and put up another shot, which Johnson blocked and rebounded before being fouled.

Johnson, who was third in the league in free throw percentage entering the game, drilled both free throws for the winning margin with 12 seconds left. After pushing the ball up the floor, Sullivan got off a three-point attempt to try to tie the game and came up short, but Jared Homan pulled down the offensive board to give ISU one last shot with just four seconds left. The offensive board was one of 21 on the day for the Cyclones, who outrebounded the Huskers 42-34, including a 21-12 advantage on the offensive glass.

On the inbounds, Sullivan was double-teamed and could not get off a shot, forcing forward Jackson Vroman to try for the tying three-pointer. Vroman's shot, which was thrown off by Corey Simms' block attempt, came up short and Johnson rebounded with two seconds left to pick up his second straight double-double and secure the victory.

Johnson lead four Huskers in double figures with a team-high 22 points while adding 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Johnson hit 11-of-12 from the free throw line and added two assists, one block and two steals in 33 minutes.

John Turek hit 5-of-7 attempts from the floor to score 13 points while grabbing six boards and two blocks, while Jason Dourisseau added 11 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Muhleisen rounded out NU's quartet of double-figure scorers with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. In NU's last contest, a 72-44 victory over No. 25 Texas Tech on Tuesday, Muhleisen was held scoreless for the first time in his career.

The teams went back and forth in the early part of the first period before ISU used a 9-2 run in the middle of the frame to forge a 20-13 advantage, its largest lead of the game. ISU hit 11 of its first 13 shots from the floor in the opening 9:20 of the game, but hit just two of its last 16 attempts in the period for 44.8 percent. The Cyclones then hit 32.4 percent in the second half and finished the game at 37.9 percent from the field, including 25.0 percent from three-point range. It was the fifth time in the past six games Nebraska held its opponent to less than 30.0 percent from outside the arc.

Nebraska came back with a 12-0 run of its own to take a 25-20 lead with 6:55 left in the opening frame on a pair of Johnson free throws. Johnson also had a basket and Muhleisen added a pair of free throws in the run, which started with two Dourisseau three-pointers. Dourisseau scored eight straight points in a three-minute span to push the Huskers, as NU led by seven, 36-29, at the intermission.

NU finished the game hitting 43.8 percent from the floor, including 50.0 percent in the second frame, while nailing 73.9 percent (19-of-26) from the free throw line. The Huskers were just 7-of-24 from outside the arc for their lowest three-point field-goal percentage in eight games.

The Huskers start the final week of the regular season against nationally ranked Kansas on Wednesday, March 3, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m.