Huskers Fall at Oklahoma State

Stillwater, Okla. - Oklahoma State hit seven of its first 10 shots from 3-point range and nine total in the first half while running to a 74-55 victory over the Cornhuskers Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena. With the loss, the Huskers fell to 14-17 on the year and finished league action with a 2-14 mark. OSU improved to 21-9 and earned a 9-7 mark in Big 12 play.

The Cowboys came out on fire, as nine of their 14 first-half baskets came from 3-point range while opening a 19-point halftime advantage. OSU went 9-of-15 from beyond the arc in the first period, nearly matching the NU opponent high for a game (12) set each of the last two contests.

Nick Sidorakis led the way by draining all four of his attempts from behind the arc to post 12 first-half points while James Anderson and Obi Muonelo also added a pair of treys each. Keiton Page had a 3-pointer as OSU hit 60 percent from long range to open the game, but it was Sidokaris who sparked the Cowboys, nailing three straight treys in less than two minutes to push the Cowboys to a lead they would never relinquish.

After NU took a 9-8 lead on Lance Jeter's 3-pointer just under four minutes into the game, the Huskers went cold, hitting just one shot - an acrobatic transition basket by Ray Gallegos - over the next 11 minutes. Sidokaris's 3-pointers spurred a 22-2 run by the Cowboys as they opened a 30-11 lead with 6:30 to play. During the stretch, OSU scored 18 straight points including seven by Anderson and six by Sidokaris.

Overall, the Cowboys hit 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the field in the first period. OSU didn't collect its first two-point basket until 9:24 had gone off the clock when Anderson hit a contested shot in the lane. The Huskers hit just 35 percent while committing 14 turnovers in the opening period, one more than their season average.

Anderson, the Big 12 Conference's leading scorer and a likely All-American this season, picked up the pace in the second period for OSU, scoring 10 points in the first five minutes as the Cowboys opened with a 12-4 run. He finished with a game-high 25 points. Oklahoma State extended the lead to 28 points in the first five minutes of the second half and never looked back.

The Huskers were led by Brandon Richardson's 16 points while Christian Standhardinger added 11 points and six rebounds. NU finished the game hitting 40 percent from the field while OSU hit 46.3 percent, including just 34.5 from 3-point range after connecting on just one of their last 14 shots beyond the arc after the intermission.

Nebraska now turns to the postseason as it will start play on Wednesday, March 10 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. The Huskers will be the No. 12 seed in the tournament and will face the No. 5 seed, which will be determined following today's games. Nebraska will play at 2 p.m. on Wednesday and the game will be seen on the Big 12 Network and ESPN360.com. a