SportsMonday
ISU loss
tough pill
to digest
BY JOSHUA CAMENZIND
Nebraska’s
last-second
loss to Iowa
State on
Saturday will
hurt for a
while. It will
sting at least
until NU takes
the floor again ---—
on Wednesday Joshua
against Camenzind
Missouri
But wasn’t it a dandy, surely
the most exciting, game yet in the
Barry Collier era.
Nebraska, looking to raise its
record above .500again by beating
another ranked opponent at
home, and Iowa State, looking to
improve on its 1-3 road record and
avoid its sixth overtime session in
the Big 12 this season, did battle in
a game for die ages.
Yes, with 10,686 fans rocking
the Devaney, this one had flair.
Cookie Belcher and Rodney
Fields-NU’s two best defenders
went at it with the nation’s best
point guard, Jamaal Tinsley. The
two won some battles and lost
others. Tinsley would have the last
laugh with 23 points and the
game-winning assist.
He had a sub-par shooting
night, going 6-14, but his dribble
penetration was enough to earn
him 11 free throws and dish off
passes to teammates that, outside
of Kantrail Horton, don’t even
deserve to share the floor with him.
“I don't think anybody can
stop my penetration,'’ saidTinsley,
who at times seemed to be back at
home on the inner-city play
ground as he toyed with NU in the
first half during a 14-0 run.
Tinsley battled through
chants of “high school dropout”
and “why so stupid” - referring to
his failure to go to high school. But
that kind of stuff doesn’t bother
Tinsley, who said it just motivates
him even more.
“They helped me out, like they
were cheering for me,” he said.
And then there was ISU’s
coach, Larry Eustachy, the hot
head of the Big 12. The weirdo who
drives to his Cyclones road games
by himself. Eustachy must have
had a good drive home after
enduring long, painful drives back
home from Columbia, Mo., and
Stillwater, Okla., after overtime
losses.
He said his team was due, and
they were. He said its coach was
due, and he was.
Coaches don’t usually like to
point to one game as a difference
maker in the scheme of the sea
son. But Eustachy did it Saturday.
“This is a huge win for us,” he
said. “Some wins are bigger than
others. One game never affects the
rest in my thinking, but some wins
do help. The win here last year
helped and this one will help.”
And this one will hurt the
Huskers, who are now 8-9 and
making their last grasps at a post
season berth. You could teU the
players were drained.
Kimani Ffriend, who allowed
Martin Rancik to spring free in the
game's final second, won’t forget
his mistake. Ffriend will probably
replay that second of final play in
his mind for nights.
“I let down my team right
there,” Ffriend said. “I blame
myself as a senior.”
Oh, yes, this one will hurt.
But should Ffriend beat him
self up at night or should NU fans
look to put die blame elsewhere?
Collier has undoubtedly
heard the criticism by now for not
sticking the lanky Ffriend right in
front of Tinsley, blocking the All
American's vision on the final (day.
NU’s first-year coach would
have been taking a page out of the
{daybook of Mizzou Coach Quin
Snyder, who had his big man
guard the in-bounds in a two
point win for the Tigers against
NU. Collier didn’t
Tinsley stul might have found
a way to squirt the pass through.
Then again, he might not have.
No matter who’s to blame for
the loss, this one will come back to
haunt the Huskers. More than
NU’s overtime loss to Minnesota,
more than its inexcusable losses
to Murray State and UMKC and
more than any other loss will from
this point on.
To make the post-season, a
team must protect its home floor
and steal a couple on the road.
With a sub-.500 record at this
point, it will be a challenge for NU
to dig out of this hole.
Because like Eustachy said,
some games help more than oth
ers. And some games hurt more
than others, too.
> X I
Defeat, then victory, then defeat
■ISU seemed to score as time
expired, but the officials had to
go to the replay to make sure.
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON
What a cruel gag.
The Nebraska basketball
team and its fans seemed to be
the butt of an evil joke on
Saturday when the Cornhuskers
fell at home to No. 23 Iowa State
60-59 on a buzzer-beating layup
by ISU senior forward Martin
Rancik.
The controversial final shot
set off mass
confusion
amongst the
10,686 fans in
attendance,
including a premature rush to
the floor by the Nebraska stu
dents who thought that the
game’s referees had ruled the
shot no good.
The officials were instead
indicating that they would
review the buzzer beater on
instant replay, which showed
that “the shot was clearly out of
the young man’s (Rancik’s) hand
before time expired,” according
to referee Tom Rucker.
And with that official deci
sion, Iowa State players and
coaches celebrated their victory
for the second time.
4 Rancik’s layup had initially
set off a floor scrambling cele
bration by the Cyclones, a team
who had seemed destined for
defeat only moments earlier
when Nebraska senior Kimani
Ffriend blocked Iowa State sen
ior Jamaal Tinsley’s shot into
press row with only eight-tenths
of a second remaining.
Iowa State used a little
Cyclone magic along with some
Husker "defensive confusion,"
as Nebraska Coach Barry Collier
would call it, to steal away the
win.
“It's one of 10 times that
something like that actually
works out," Iowa State Coach
Larry Eustachy said of ISU’s final
play.
On the play, everything
worked as well as ISU could
have ever imagined, with Rancik
slipping loose to the basket after
setting a screen for senior guard
Kantrail Horton. Tinsley fired
the inbounds pass to Rancik,
LEFT: Nebraska
fans celebrate
what they
thought was a
NU win over
Iowa State
before the refer
ees reviewed
the last shot to
determine that
it was made
before the end
of regulation.
Scott McQug/DN
Iowa State players celebrate the instant replay-decided win over Nebraska on Saturday at
the Devaney Center. ISU inbounded the baN to forward Martin Randk with .8 seconds left
where he made the last shot to help the Cyclones defeat the Huskers 60-59.
whose layup lipped in before
Ffriend could recover to block
the shot.
“I knew it was good,” Tinsley
said of the winning hoop. “The
ref saw it and said it counted. I
wasn’t worried at all.”
The dramatic win improved
ISU’s record to an overall 15-3
and a 3-2 in conference play.
The Huskers’ season record fell
to 8-9,1-3 in the Big 12.
Early on, it looked as if the
game wouldn’t have any drama.
Iowa State jumped all over
Nebraska, taking a command
ing 14-2 early lead.
“We weren’t executing offen
sively," Collier said. “But I didn’t
sense panic or anyone tossing in
Please see CYCLONES on page 9
Scott McClurg/DN
Tinsley unstoppable
Cyclone down stretch
BY JOSHUA CAMENZ1ND
Iowa State Coach Larry
Eustachy said after his team's GO
59 victory over Nebraska on
Saturday that there is a fine line
between winning and losing.
And that line just may be the
man he has running his team -
point guard Jamaal Tinsley.
"Jamaal has stepped it up the
past few games,” Eustachy said.
“I have seen a different Jamaal.”
The new and improved
Tinsley has seen his team win
two in a row against Colorado
and the Huskers after falling to
Missouri in a four-overtime
heartbreaker.
Against Colorado, Tinsley
had 16 points, nine assists and
six rebounds in an 84-68 Cyclone
cakewalk.
“'Jamaal has stepped it
up the past few
games. I have seen a
different Jamaal."
Larry Eustachy
Iowa State coach
But in facing the Huskers,
Tinsley was forced to be at his
best and came out a winner.
The senior fueled an early 14
0ISU run that stunned the NU
crowd, then continuously kept
the Huskers at arm’s length with
timely baskets in the first half.
In the second half, Eustachy
said, the Cyclones attached a
Please see VICTORY on page 9
Clanton, Amos shine in testing
BY SEAN CALLAHAN
It’s always nice to have momentum
on your side.
On Wednesday the Cornhuskers
stepped onto the playing surface for
the first time since their 66-17 victory
over Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl.
After a record-breaking day of pre
winter testing, the Huskers will enter
their 2001 winter conditioning pro
gram on some pretty high notes.
Sophomore defensive lineman Jon
Clanton became the first NU athlete to
break 1,000 points on one perform
ance indicator with his time of 3.97 in
the pro-agility run.
“Jon was the story of the pre-test
ing,” Nebraska Director of Athletic
Performance Boyd Epley said. “It was
just a great effort.”
It’s quite an honor when you look at
all the athletes that we’ve had come
through here. It’s something that we
won’t forget.”
In the overall scoring, Clanton led
the way as well with a mark of2,648.
Freshman linebacker Jason
Richenberger scored 2,477 points
while freshman defensive back Willie
Amos scored 2,449 points to round out
the top three.
The fourth-best index mark was
from walk-on freshman fullback Curt
Tomasevicz, who notched 2,421
points.
The Shelby native’s index score of
677 points in the vertical leap broke the
old position record held by Lance
Lewis since 1988,
“Curt Tomasevicz is a kid that
you’re going to see move up the charts
in the spring,” Epley said. “The coaches
are going to be watching him a little
closer.
“He’s done well in practices on the
scout team. They're pleased with
where he is at and the power he has
brought to that position.”
Other top marks for the Huskers
came from junior linebacker Randy
Stella in the 10-yard dash (1.56) and
Amos in the 40-yard dash (4.45).
NU averaged 1.74 in the 10-yard
dash overall, better than last season’s
time and equal to the 1999 team’s
results in the pre-winter conditioning.
The 1999 team ran on artificial turf,
while this year’s squad ran on
FieldTurf, a slower surface.
“The Fieldllirf is categorized by the
NFL as grass,” Epley said. "So this is like
comparing grass times to turf times.”
“People that read our times across
the nation are thinking Nebraska’s
slow. That’s just fine with us. I promise
k. -
0)
3
o
q.
Top performance index points:
k* Jon Clanton (DL) 2,648
0 Jason Richenberger (LB) 2,477
^ Willie Amos (DB) 2,449
f/i
Z1 Top 10-yard Dash Times:
“ Randy Stella (LB) 1.56
1 Jeff Hemje (DB) 1.56
Lannie Hopkins (LB) 1.57
O)—
C Top 40-yard Dash Times:
« Willie Amos (DB) 4.45
Lannie Hopkins (LB) 4.58
3 Erwin Swiney (DB) 4.58
0
m Top Pro-Agility Run Times:
Carl Scholting (DB) 3.89
® Jack O’Holleran (IB) 3.94
Jeff Hemje (DB) 3.94
Top Vertical Jumps (inches):
Curt Tomasevicz (FB) 37”
Willie Amos (DB) 36.5”
Tim Demeratn (DB) 35.5”
DelanLonowski/DN
you, we are not slow.”
The Huskers begin the six-week
winter conditioning period today in
Cook Pavilion. The team will be tested
again at the end of winter condition
ing.
Wrestlers struggle, finish 1 -2 at Duals
■ Bryan Snyder does avenge an
earlier loss to Minnesota's Becker,
but the Gophers roll over Nebraska.
BY VINCE KUPPIG
For the first time since 1989, the
injury-plagued Nebraska wrestling
team did not place in the top eight of the
Cliff Keen / NWCA National Duals with a
1,-2 showing in State College, Pa., on
Saturday.
After defeating host school Penn
State, the eighth-ranked Comhuskers
were eliminated with losses to second
ranked Minnesota and 18th-ranked
Lehigh University.
Seeded seventh, NU started out the
tournament with a 21-13 victory, win
A *
ning six of 10 matches over the Nittany
Lions.
Plagued by injuries, NU was forced
to use 125-pound redshirt freshman Ty
Malia at 141 pounds against PSU.
Already missing starters at 149 pounds
and 184 pounds, NU was without 141
pound starter Dusty Spaulding, who
suffered a hairline fracture of his clavicle
last week.
In the quarterfinals, NU met
Minnesota for the second time in the
last 10 days, the first a 26-13 loss on Jan.
11.
The Huskers fared even worse this
time around, winning just two matches
at 157 pounds and 197 pounds in a 30-9
loss. One of the few highlights of the day
came from second-ranked Bryan
Snyder’s defeat over fifth-ranked Luke
Becker, a 3-1 double overtime victory. In
their last meeting, Minnesota’s Becker
upset Snyder.
Just 20 minutes after the Minnesota
loss, NU met Lehigh in the consolation
bracket. After a 9-0 start, Lehigh went
ahead 12-9 with a forfeit and a pin.
Snyder tied it up with a 10-5 win over
No. 11 Ryan Bemholz. Lehigh prevailed
in three of the final five matches to win
24-18.
With the 1-2 showing, Nebraska’s
dual record now stands at 10-3, its 13^
consecutive 10-win season.
Nebraska returns to dual competi
tion on Feb. 2 at Northern Iowa, Coach
Mark Manning’s former team.
Individuals Brad Vering, Todd
Beckerman and Snyder will be compet
ing at the NWCA All-Star dual on Jan. 29.
»
Losing streak
at three as NU
routed by UT
BY LINCOLN ARNEAL
The women’s basketball team’s defense did every
thing it needed to against No. 17 Texas (15-5,3-3 Big
12). The Huskers held the
T©QS 62 Longhorns to 34 percent shooting
Nebraska 48 fr°m 1° points under
_!_ their average. But Nebraska could
n't get it done offensively as NU (9
9,1-4 Big 12) dropped its third straight game to a top
20 team 62-48.
“We did all we could to win,” Coach Paul
Sanderford said. “We just have to get better offensive
production.”
The Huskers took an early 6-2 lead behind senior
Casey Leonhardt as she scored eight of NU's first 10
points.
Their lead would be short-lived as Texas stepped
it up on both ends of the court and went on a 23-6 run
to take a 33-18 halftime lead.
The Longhorns frustrated
NU’s offense as they forced the We tried tO
Huskers to shoot 24 percent and m/y .*/• ,,n »
blocked six shots in die first half. *
The Huskers’ defense SdYldevfo^d
stepped it up a notch in the sec- csii/j “Thp
ond half as they switched to a
newly unveiled 1-3-1 defense. 1 -3-1 WdS
“We tried to mix it up,” vgjy
Sanderford said. “The 1-3-1 was rr .. r
very effective for us." effective for
Nebraska’s offense started to us. ”
show some life as well as they
begantocutintotheLonghoms’ p . sdfd
lead. Monique Whitfield nar- raul , 7
rowed the margin to 44-39 after _NU coacn
she put back a miss with seven
minutes left.
That was as close as NU would get as Texas
answered with a 6-0 run that shut the door on the
Huskers’ rally.
Fouls and mental mistakes killed Nebraska dur
ing that run as they gave Texas several easy opportu
nities to score.
“We came back and worked very hard,”
Leonhardt said, "but the mental lapses hurt us late.”
The Huskers have been held to 50 points or less in
the past three games. Sanderford said his team needs
to find a way to more production on offense.
“When you can’t score, it is difficult to win,” he
said.