Nebraskan SPORTS
Monday, March 8,1993 V^X V.X
siaa MCKee/DN
Nebraska’s Bruce Chubick goes up for a shot against Oklahoma’s Ken Conley. The
Comhuskers clinched a share of second place in the Big Eight with a 94-83 victory over
the Sooners Sunday.
Cornhuskers pull through,
win senior’s last home game
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter
Ii was Nebraska center Derrick
Chandler’sday at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center Sunday.
But when the Comhuskers’
leader went down, Nebraska picked
up its play and beat Oklahoma 94
83 in ns regular-season finale.
With 4:36 left in the game and
the Huskcrs down 76-74, Chan
dler, the lone senior on the Ne
braska team, fouled out in his final
home game.
But Nebraska went on a 20-7
run in the game’s final minutes to
help Chandler leave the Devaney
Center on a winning note in front of
14,558 fans.
Husker forward Bruce Chubick
said after Chandler received his
fifth foul, he wanted to let the
senior know his last home game
wasn’t going to be a loss.
“What’s going on in my head is
we’ve got to win this game for DC,
because we wanted to send him out
like a champ, not a chump,”
Chubick said. “I walked over to
him, I said ‘Don’t worry DC, we’ll
get it for you.’”
Chandler, who finished the
game with 15 points, 11 rebounds
and three blocks, said Chubick’s
confidence was all he needed.
“(Chubick) made some big plays
down the stretch,” Chandler said.
“And every lime he did something,
he looked at the sideline and gave
me a little nod, and I knew that we
were going to win this game.”
Things didn't look so good for
Nebraska before Chandler fouled
out. The Huskers had built a 56-43
lead early in the second half fol
lowing a Chubick basket, but the
Sooners used a 33-18 run until
Chandler left to give Oklahoma a
two-point lead with less than five
minutes remaining.
But Nebraska guard Jamar John
son scored 10 of his 19 points in
Chandler’s absence to improve the
Huskers’ overall record to 20-9
and Big Eight mark to 8-6.
Nebraska ended a four-game
losing streak to the Sooners, and
helped drop Oklahoma’s confer
ence record to 7-7 and overall mark
to 19-10.
See SOONERS on 8
Chandler gets wish in home finale
By Jeff Grlesch
StaffReporter
In his Iasi home game Sunday,
Derrick Chandler’s wish was to go
out in style with a win over Okla
homa.
Forced to watch from the side
line after fouling out with 4:36 left
in the game. Chandler saw Ne
braska goon a 20-7 run to grant him
his wish with a 94-83 win over the
Sooncrs.
Chandler set the tone early for
the Comhuskers, scoring the first
five points for Nebraska. He fin
ished with IS points, 11 rebounds
and 3 blocked shots.
Jamar Johnson and Eric
Piatkowski led Nebraska with 19,
and BruceChubick added 15 points.
“It wasn’t a big game tor me
personally, but it was a total team
win," Chandler said.
Chandler, who fought off a few
tears after a minute-long standing
ovation from the more than 14,000
fans, said the game was special for
him.
“It was a real emotional game
forme,”Chandlcrsaid.“I was filled
with a lot of joy and sadness."
The crowd chanted “D.C.” while '
he sal on the benen with five fouls,
and Chandler gave them a two-arm
wave. But he said he wanted to do
more than that.
“I wanted to shake hands with
all 14,000 fans personally to show
my appreciation to them,” Chan
dler said. ' <
Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs
was not as appreciative of Chan
dler as the Nebraska fans were, but
praised his performance against the
Sooners.
“I thought he had a great game,”
Tubbs said. “He had a big game on
the boards with 11 rebounds.
“He is just an outstanding
player.”
With the regular season over.
Chandler said he had already be
gun to focus on the Big Eight Tour
nament.
“Last year, I fouled out and had
a bad game ” Chandler said. “I am
going to have a better game against
Kansas State.”
Cornhuskers
eke out win
over Cowboys
By Derek Samson
Staff Reporter _
SALINA, Kan. — Mcggan
Yedsena’s free throws with five sec
onds remaining assured Nebraska that
the third time would be the charm in
the Comhuskers’ 66-64 victory over
Oklahoma State Sunday.
Nebraska, who lost both regular
season games against the Cowgirls,
advanced to tonight’s B ig Eight Tour
nament final by winning a game that
saw 22 lead changes and 13 ties.
“That’s the biggest victory we’ve
been a part of,” Nebraska coach An
f;cla Beck said. “We’ve had a com
ortable lead in a lot of games, and this
was definitely not a comfortable
game.”
Yedsena was fouled after she re
bounded an Oklahoma State miss w ilh
five seconds left. Yedsena, who sat
out of the Huskers’ first-round win
with a sprained ankle, sunk both free
throws.
“I struggled the whole game with
my ankle,” Yedsena said. “I thought
(free throws) would be a way to make
up for the game.”
Oklahoma State missed a last-sec
ond shot from five feet out.
Against Ok lahoma S talc, the Husk
ers shot 52 percent from the field
while the Cowgirls shot only 35 per
cent. However, Nebraska did commit
26 turnovers, 16 of those coming in
the first half.
“Our defense was pretty solid,”
Beck said. ’The thing that hurl us was
how much we turned the ball over.”
The game was even throughout the
first half, with Nebraska holding a 35
34 halftime lead, despite the Cowgirls
30 percent shooting from the field.
“We’ve been that way the whole
year,” Oklahoma State coach Dick
Halterman said. “Wc are not a good
shooting team, but our effort is so
good that it keeps us in the game.”
In the second half, the Huskers
looked as if they might pull away.
After Tanya Upthegrove’s basket with
10:48 left, Nebraska led 53-45.
w ’ ....; . w
WWMW-1
MKSA55L |
........
See Related Story on Page 8
“Wc lost the game around the eight
minulc mark, when we just quit play
ing,” Hallcrman said.
Oklahoma Slate fought its way
back, partly because of Lisa McGill,
who scored 10 points in the final 7:30.
“It wasn ’ t that we got com fortable,
thev just played a solid game, espe
cially for how young a team they are,”
Beck said.
Karen Jennings led Nebraska with
19 points, while Nafecsah Brown
added 12 and Rissa Taylor had 10.
Oklahoma State was led by fresh
man Stacey Coffey, who had 19points.
Nebraska improved to 22-6 with
the win and will play hom& favorite
Kansas, an 81-78 double overtime
winner over Colorado, in Monday’s
championship game.
“We both want to gel that game,”
Beck said. “It’s going to be a very
tough battle.”
Third match a charm
for Cyclone wrestlers
By Tim Pearson
Staff Reporter
Iowa State and Nebraska each came
into the Big Eight Championships
dead even.
The Cyclones defeated the
Comhuskers Jan. 6.
Nebraska got revenge at the Na
tional Duals with a win over its Big
Eight foe Jan. 23.
A close match between the Cy
clones and the Huskers was antici
pated at the Big Eight Championships
Saturday at Norman, Okla.
And a close match it was.
In the end, Iowa State proved they
were better than the Huskers by one
half point.
The Cyclones defeated Nebraska
87-86.5 to end the Huskers’ quest for
their first conference title.
Senior John Buxton, who finished
runner-up at 118, said the loss was
disappointing, but added it may help
in the long run.
“It may actually help us,’’ he said.
“It’ll get us to work a little harder in
the next two weeks before the na
tional meet.’’
The Comhuskers advanced nineof
10 wrestlers to the finals, and they
looked to be in command and cn route
to their first conference title.
Of the nine wrestlers who made the
finals, only three came out on top.
Senior Tony Purler won at 126,
decisioning Rick Williams of Iowa
Slate, and junior Frank Velazquez
took first at 134.
Senior Matt Lindland, attempting
to become the first Huskcr wrestler to
go undefeated, advanced his record to
36-0 with a 4-2 overtime win over
Jason Leonard of Oklahoma.
Lindland’s victory at 1S8 turned
out to be Nebraska’s last win of the
evening.
Huskers Corey Olson, Ovanes
Oganisian and Rulon Gardner each
lost their final matches at 177, 190
and heavyweight, respectively.
The entire conference team crown
depended on the heavyweight
matchup between Nebraska’sGardner
and the Cyclones’ Todd Kinney.
Kinney, whose four losses included
three to Gardner this season,
decisioncd Gardner 3-2 to give the
Cyclones the narrow win.
Buxton said the match was close
until the end.
Buxton, who moved down to 118
from 126 to compete in the confer
ence meet, said that even with the
second-place finish, the Huskers had
a good chance of winning at the NCAA
Championships March 18-20.
“We’ve got as good of a shot as
anybody,” he said. “It should be just
like (the Big Eight meet), a real close
battle to the end."