Husker Comeback Falls Short vs. Aggies

Kansas City - Nebraska cut a 16-point second-half deficit down to one, but No. 23 Texas A&M came up with big shots when it needed them most as the fifth-seeded Aggies eased into the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship with a 70-64 victory over the Huskers Thursday at the Sprint Center.

Nebraska, which was bidding to become the first No. 12 seed to earn two wins at the league tourney, fell behind early and trailed by nine at the half, 37-28. Texas A&M, which shot just 42.9 percent from the field, scored the first seven points of the second period to lead 44-28 on a pair of Khris Middleton free throws before the Huskers started to climb back into the game.

Utilizing a zone defense for much of the half, the Huskers frustrated the Aggies, limiting them to just one field goal over a seven-minute span. A&M missed 10 of 11 shots in the stretch while the Huskers, who hit 50 percent (23-of-46) from the field for the game, started the front of a 19-5 run to erase the double-figure lead. The Aggies lead was 13 points with 13:47 to play, but Nebraska scored 11 straight over the next four minutes, capped by senior Ryan Anderson's 3-pointer with 9:05 to play that cut the deficit to a basket at 49-47.

Texas A&M's Donald Sloan answered with a jumper in the paint as the teams started trading baskets, with Nebraska closing the game to a single point, 54-53, on Jorge Brian Diaz's basket with just over four minutes remaining. But Sloan came up big again, draining one of his three 3-pointers less than 30 seconds later to effectively hold off the Huskers' upset chances.

Khris Middleton put the Aggies ahead by five with a 3-pointer with just under three minutes left in the game and Sloan added his final basket a minute later to push the lead back to seven. Senior Sek Henry hit a pair of late 3-pointers of his own to pull Nebraska back within four in the final minute, but A&M held on to advance to Friday's semifinal game against No. 1 Kansas.

Sloan finished the game with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, helping the Aggies hit 19-of-25 free throws along the way. He was one of three Aggies with four assists as A&M had 15 assists against only seven turnovers. NU recorded 19 assists on 23 baskets but 11 first-half turnovers (14 total) hurt the Husker effort.

Neither team was able to get into a rhythm early as both teams failed to get a basket in the first three minutes. A&M scored the first eight points of the game, capped by Sloan's 3-pointer at the 16:22 mark for the first field goal of the game for either team. The Huskers cut it back to just a three-point difference, 9-6, on Anderson's layup before A&M ran off seven points to extend the lead to double figures with more than 12 minutes left in the opening period.

Nebraska looked to get back into the game as it pulled within five, 33-28, in the final minute before Sloan's 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining before intermission made it a nine-point game.

Anderson, who was making his 101st career start, led the Huskers with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting while Diaz connected on 7-of-11 field-goal attempts for 14 points while Henry had 13 points.