Huskers Fall Short Against Cyclones

Lincoln - In a game that featured 11 leads changes, the Nebraska basketball team came up just short in a 56-53 loss to Iowa State Saturday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Lance Jeter's long 3-pointer fell well short as the final buzzer sounded.

Nebraska, who lost a one-point lead at halftime for the second straight game, dropped its third game in a row to fall to 12-6 on the year and 0-3 in Big 12 Conference play. Iowa State evened its conference record at 1-1, while improving to 12-6 overall.

Ryan Anderson led NU with 13 points, eight rebounds and five steals, while Jeter added 12 points. The Huskers shot just 36.5 percent from the field, including a 5-of-19 performance from the 3-point line. Nebraska also left points on the board at the charity stripe, as the Huskers hit only 2-of-8 free throws.

Iowa State didn't fare much better, shooting only 39.3 percent from the floor. But the Cyclones were 6-of-16 from 3-point range and 6-of-14 from the line. Marquis Gilstrap led Iowa State with 15 points and 12 rebounds, as seven of the eight Cyclones who played finished with at least six points.

The game started slow as the teams combined for five turnovers in the first two minutes. Iowa State missed its first four shots and took more than three minutes to score, but when Diante Garrett finally connected on a 3-pointer, it gave the Cyclones a 3-2 lead.

A 5-0 run gave Nebraska a 9-8 lead before Iowa State took control over the next 10 minutes. A 7-0 run gave the Cyclones a 15-9 lead and forced a Nebraska timeout with 12:45 left in the half. After Anderson's second 3-pointer of the half trimmed the lead to three, Iowa State used an 11-2 run to stretch the lead to 26-14 with eight minutes left.

But from there, the Cyclones hit only three field goals the rest of the half. Nebraska quickly scored six straight points and a pair of Brandon Richardson 3-pointers and an Anderson steal and two-handed dunk highlighted an 18-2 Husker run that put Nebraska on top 32-28. A three-point play by Gillstrap cut the Husker lead to 32-31 at the half.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the first half, but Nebraska had seven steals and forced 10 turnovers to outscore Iowa State 11-3 in points off turnovers. The Cyclones took much better care of the ball over the final 20 minutes, turning it over just four times, leading to only two Husker points.

Iowa State scored the first four points of the second half to quickly regain the lead. Nebraska missed its first four shots of the half before hitting three in a row to twice take a one-point lead. The Huskers stretched their lead to 46-41 at the midway point of the half before Scott Christopherson ended a three-minute Iowa State scoreless drought with a 3-pointer.

Christopher added another 3-pointer as the Cyclones use a 10-1 run to take 51-47 lead with 5:33 remaining in the half. During the run, Nebraska went more than five minutes without a field goal before Anderson nailed a 3-pointer out of a timeout to pull the Huskers back within one.

Sek Henry tied the game at 51 with a free throw at the three-minute mark before back-to-back baskets by Garrett gave Iowa State a four-point lead with less than two minutes remaining. Nebraska answered back with a layup by Jorge Brian Diaz and recorded a steal on Iowa State's next possession.

But the Huskers turned it right back over to the Cyclones with 43 seconds remaining. Following an ISU time out, Nebraska elected to foul twice to set up a one-and-one situation, but the Huskers were unable to send Iowa State to the free-throw line until only 9.3 seconds remained.

Lucca Staiger made the first free throw and missed the second and following a long scramble for the loose ball, Nebraska received possession on a jump ball. Trailing 56-53 with 5.0 seconds remaining, Nebraska inbounded the ball to Jeter from halfcourt, but his 30-footer missed as time expired.

Following two straight homes games, Nebraska hits the road for its next two contests, beginning with a 5 p.m. game at Missouri next Saturday.