Iowa State Slips Past Huskers, 78-74

Ames, Iowa - Iowa State's Craig Brackins scored 11 of his team-high 21 points in the final six minutes as he helped the Cyclones hold off a pesky Nebraska squad, 78-74, on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum.

Brackins led four Cyclone starters in double figures as Iowa State snapped a six-game losing streak to improve to 14-14 on the year and 3-10 in league action. The Huskers saw their losing streak reach seven games as they fell to 13-15 overall and 1-12 in Big 12 action.

Nebraska had plenty of chances to pull off the road win, leading by double figures in the first half and by nine points in the second period. But Brackins and the Cyclones would not be denied.

After Nebraska rolled off a 6-0 run to go ahead 59-53 on Christian Standhardinger's breakaway dunk with 7:35 to play, Iowa State battled back to score five straight on a Diante Garrett layup and three ISU free throws while NU turned the ball over on three straight possessions. Brackins then hit his first basket of the second period, a 3-pointer with 5:50 to play that gave the Cyclones a two-point cushion.

Brackins scored 11 of his team's next 13 points, including a thunderous one-handed jam off an alley-oop that gave ISU the lead for good with 3:45 to play. His dunk came after Nebraska's Lance Jeter had tied the game at 65-all on a traditional three-point play just 15 seconds earlier.

Iowa State pushed the lead out to seven points in the last minute, but Jeter and Company would not give up either. The junior point guard drained his fourth 3-pointer of the game with nine seconds remaining to pull the Huskers within two, 76-74, and put the crowd on edge. But a pair of ISU free throws iced the game, handing Nebraska its second straight road defeat by just four points.

Standhardinger and Jeter kept the Huskers in the game as they poured in career highs with 25 and 21 points, respectively. They combined to hit 16-of-27 shots from the floor as the Huskers hit 46.6 percent for the game, including 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from 3-point range.

The 3-point shots were falling early as Nebraska opened the game with a flurry, running out to a 12-4 lead in less than six minutes. The Huskers got off to the strong start with a pair of 3-pointers, including one from Standhardinger, followed by a pair of baskets from Jorge Brian Diaz before the Cyclones finally came alive.

Iowa State rallied quickly, posting 10 straight points to take its first lead of the game at 14-12 on an emphatic dunk by Brackins, who picked up the tipped pass in the lane and easily brought the crowd to its feet. Brackins, who had a season-low six points in Lincoln, topped his total from the previous meeting the basket that gave the Cyclones their first advantage. Jeter snapped the Cyclone scoring surge with a jumper before the teams traded 3-pointers, with Anderson draining an NBA-range bomb, one of the Huskers' seven first-half treys.

From there, the Husker freshmen took over on the offensive end.

Standhardinger caught fire, scoring nine points in the next three minutes before finishing the half with 14, a total that tied his season high. Diaz joined the German in the surge, scoring two of his four first-half baskets and came up with one of the biggest plays of the period to help snap an NU scoring drought.

Diaz got an offensive rebound and added a second offensive board off his own miss before finding Anderson for his second trey of the game at the 2:33 mark. It snapped a streak of nearly four minutes with the Huskers going scoreless and set up the final run that put Nebraska into the locker room by seven. Diaz finished with five rebounds while Standhardinger had a career-best eight boards as the Huskers were outrebounded 36-29 for the game.

After missing his first two from long range, Jeter hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 1:35 left and Standhardinger followed with a nifty reverse layup in traffic to give Nebraska a 38-32 lead. Garrett then got to the foul line for ISU with seven seconds left and pulled the Cyclones within four before an exciting Husker ending to the opening half.

With only two team fouls, the Cyclones fouled Jeter after the inbounds and put the Huskers back at the midcourt sideline with just over four seconds remaining. An inbounds pass and quick move to the middle helped Jeter get just enough room as he launched a long last-second 3-pointer that rimmed around twice before falling down and pushing the intermission lead to seven.

Standhardinger had four quick points to open the second half, as the Huskers ran out to a 49-40 lead on pair of Brandon Ubel free throws. However, the Cyclones quickly regrouped as Marquis Gilstrap's 3-pointer pulled ISU within three, 49-46 with 12:34 and forced a Husker timeout. Iowa State kept the momentum in its favor as they scored 11 straight points as part of a 14-2 run.

Nebraska snapped the run off a nice pass from Standhardinger, who found a cutting Diaz at the basket. That helped ease the tide as the teams started trading baskets back and forth, including a nice transition bucket from Jeter that was started by a Brandon Richardson steal followed by a touch pass from Anderson. The basket gave the Huskers a two-point lead with 8:52 remaining.

After Nebraska moved back ahead by six points, the Cyclones started their climb on top for good behind Brackins and Scott Christopherson. The duo combined for 17 straight points for ISU to put the contest out of reach.

Standhardinger's 25 points are believed to be the most by a Husker freshman in his first career start. The total is also the ninth-highest ever by an NU freshman, and he became the third member of the Nebraska freshman class to score at least 20 points in a game this season. He joined Diaz, who has two 20-point games this year, and Eshaunte Jones, who posted one 20-point contest.

The Huskers return to the court this weekend when they open a two-game homestand to complete the regular-season home schedule. NU starts with Texas Tech on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. in a game seen in select markets around the country on the Big 12 Network.