Iowa State Comeback Too Much for Huskers

Ames, Iowa --- A dominating first-half defensive performance was not enough as the Nebraska men's basketball team let a perfect opportunity for a road win slip away as Iowa State rebounded from a 13-point halftime to earn a 60-52 victory over Nebraska at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.

The Huskers put on a defensive performance in the first half, holding Iowa State to just 19.0 percent on 4-of-21 shooting. The Cyclone's 11 points were the fewest in any half of a game -- conference or non-conference -- in the modern era (since 1949) and also set a Big 12 Conference record for fewest points in a half during a league contest.  

After Iowa State took a 5-4 lead on Alex Thompson's second basket of the game at the 16:43 mark, Nebraska went on an 11-0 run with five different players scoring in surge. The Huskers continued to force the pace, moving ahead 22-9 on Cookie Miller's 3-pointer at 4:00 mark. Miller had a solid first half on the defensive end, tying up the Cyclone guards and equalling his career high with five steals in the period, including three in a 1:33 span.

The Cyclones were held without a field goal for more than 10 minutes as the Huskers took control of the opening period. Cory Johnson's basket at the 12:01 mark of the opening period started a streak of 10:27 without a field goal until Wesley Johnson's layup cut the Husker lead to 24-11. Neither team scored again as the Huskers went into the half ahead by 13. 

But the double-figure lead would not be enough as Iowa State came out of the locker room on fire.

The Cyclones quickly got the Hilton Coliseum crowd into the game in the first three minutes after the inermission as ISU went on an 8-0 run to open the period behind a Jiri Hubalek who had all 10 of his points in the second half. Hubalek's basket and a pair of Bryan Peterson 3-pointers cut the Husker advantage to 24-19 with 17:16 to play.

Iowa State continued an impressive offensive push, outscoring Nebraska 11-1 to open the frame. ISU scored as many points in the first 4:17 of the second period as it did all of the first half, cutting the deficit to just three points, 25-22, on Rahshon Clark's putback basket.

Iowa State tied the game at 25-all on Hubalek's basket off a nice spin move at the 13:02 mark and, following Miller's driving layup, took its first lead since 5-4 on Adam Huluska's 3-pointer less than a minute later. Hubalek added another basket to give the Cyclones a 30-27 lead with 11:50 to play, capping a 19-3 ISU run.

Nebraska had just one more field goal in the next four minutes, as Iowa State moved out to a 39-30 lead on Huluska's second 3-pointer of the half before the Cornhuskers finally responded. Sek Henry started the Huskers with a nifty drive to basket to cut the lead to seven and Jay-R Strowbridge trimmed three more points off the deficit with a trey following a nice pass out from Aleks Maric.  

The teams kept trading baskets with Miller's 3-pointer with 4:15 remaininng pulling NU back within four, 46-42 and Nebraska never got closer. The Cyclones hit just three field goals in the final 8:45 but connected on 14 free throws including nine in the final 1:24 to seal the comeback victory.

The Huskers return to action at home in the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Wednesday, Feb. 20, when Nebraska plays host to the Kansas State Wildcats. The contest will tip off at 8 p.m. and will be seen nationally on ESPN2.