Cowboys Win Defensive Battle with Huskers

Oklahoma City -- Oklahoma State held Nebraska to a season-low 39 points and pressured the Huskers into a season-high 24 turnovers as the seventh-seeded Cowboys ran away with a 54-39 victory in the first round of the 2007 Big 12 Championship on Thursday at the Ford Center.

NU hit just 27.7 percent (13-of-47) from the floor -- its lowest of the year -- including knocking down only 4-of-20 shots from beyond the arc. Junior center Aleks Maric led the Huskers with 13 points, the only Husker in double figures on the night. Charles Richardson Jr., one of two seniors on the squad, added eight points in 40 minutes of action while no other Husker had more than five.

Nebraska, which fell to 17-14 on the season, did a solid job on the defensive end, holding the Cowboys to nearly 25 points below their season scoring average. OSU hit just 39.5 percent on the game after being limited to 28.6 percent (6-of-21) in the second half, but Nebraska could never muster much of a run as it struggled offensively.

After trailing by 11 at the intermission, Nebraska saw the Cowboys jump out to a 17-point advantage less than two minutes into the period behind a pair of Byron Eaton 3-pointers. NU trimmed the deficit back to 12 points on Ryan Anderson's layup at the 15:25 mark, but neither team could sustain a run.

Nebraska scored only three points over the next nine and a half minutes while OSU pushed the lead to 46-27 on Mario Boggan's 3-pointer with 6:05 to play. NU went on a 10-2 run, including five straight by Maric, to pull within 11, but could get no closer as the Cowobys scored five of the last seven points of the game over the last three minutes.

Maric collected 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including putting up just three shot attempts in the opening frame. The 6-11, 270-pounder added 12 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double and helped the Huskers outrebound the Cowboys by a 38-28 margin while holding a 17-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Maric also added a career-high three steals while Paul Velander posted four steals, another career best.

Oklahoma State stiffled the Husker offense right out of the gate, as the Huskers were held without a field goal for the first 9:41 of the contest. After a Richardson free throw at the 17:18 mark, the Cowboys' strong defensive effort combined with Nebraska's poor shooting led to an 0-for-10 performance from the floor to open the game, allowing OSU to race out to a 15-1 lead.

The Cowboys hit five of their first 10 attempts and led by double figures before Maric used a strong move in the paint to score the Huskers' first basket at 10:19. OSU's impressive start was temporarily tempered as the Huskers clamped down on defense to get back in the game. Over a 6:33 span, the Huskers held Oklahoma State scoreless while producing 11 straight points to pull within three, 15-12, on Sek Henry's 3-pointer at the 5:53 mark.

OSU used a 15-7 run over the last 5:12 to pull away for a 30-19 halftime lead. Obi Muonelo started the charge as he scored five quick points, while Marcus Dove added seven points in the period including two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining that gave the Cowboys a 13-point lead. Richardson quickly brought the ball up court and drove the lane, banking in the Huskers' final points with less than one second on the clock.

Nebraska finished the half with 13 turnovers after averaging just 13.9 per game on the season. The Huskers hit just 25 percent (6-of-24) from the field in the opening frame while Oklahoma State, despite the six-minute scoring drought, hit 50 percent (11-of-22). The Cowboys' hot shooting came despite failing to pick up an offensive rebound, as the Huskers dominated the glass, 19-10, and had an 8-0 advantage in offensive boards heading into the locker room.

The Huskers will return home to Lincoln on Friday and will find out their postseason fate on Sunday, March 11. NU holds out a slim hope for earning a second straight NIT berth. The NIT pairings will be announced Sunday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPNU.