March 10, 1999

Box Score

By TIM KORTE
AP Sports Writer

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - It's not so bad for Nebraska that the Cornhuskers missed the NCAA tournament. Under coach Danny Nee, at least they know how to win in the NIT.

Cookie Belcher scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half and Larry Florence had 14 of his 16 in the last 20 minutes as Nebraska beat UNLV 68-55 on Wednesday night.

With the victory, the Huskers (20-12) improved to 14-4 in the NIT - including the 1996 NIT title - during Nee's 13 seasons. Nebraska is 0-6 in the NCAA tournament, including 0-5 under Nee.

The Runnin' Rebels (16-13), who lost six of eight to end the season, had control for much of the first half, but Nebraska blew them away after that.

Leading 31-29 at halftime, the Huskers scored the first 10 points of the second half with a 14-2 run during which it seemed they could do no wrong - even with Big 12 player of the year Venson Hamilton on the bench in foul trouble.

Nebraska led 45-31 with 15:21 to play after Florence lost control of the ball and almost threw it away on a fast break. Belcher, unable to make the catch, tipped it back to Florence for a layup.

It got worse for the Rebels after that.

After Chris Richardson hit two free throws to pull UNLV within 51-38, the Huskers went on a 9-4 run. The first three Nebraska buckets during that stretch came when the Rebels couldn't inbound the ball without a turnover.

Shawn Marion led the Rebels with 16 points while Desmond Herod, who hit three 3-pointers in the first half, scored 11 and Issiah Epps had 10.

The Huskers came back from a 16-8 deficit in the first half. The Rebels would have tied it on a late layup by Epps, but officials ruled he still had the ball at the horn.