Cyclones Edge Cornhuskers, 60-59

LINCOLN, Neb. - Iowa State got to celebrate this one twice.

Martin Rancik's disputed basket at the buzzer was ruled good after a replay review and, following a wild scene in which both teams stormed the court thinking they had won, the No. 23 Cyclones beat Nebraska 60-59 Saturday.

Down 59-58, Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley had his shot blocked out of bounds by Kimani Ffriend with eight-tenths of a seconds left.

The Cyclones kept the ball and Tinsley threw a perfect lob pass that Rancik caught and laid in over Ffriend as time expired.

"I've never made a shot like that," Rancik said.

Rancik was mobbed by his teammates. But the officials quickly waved off the basket, and went to look at the replay.

At that point, the Cornhuskers started to celebrate and their fans rushed the court.

"I was like, 'Oh God, please no,"' Rancik said.

After reviewing the play, the officials ruled Rancik got the shot off in time.

"I first thought they called it off. That's why I showed some disappointment," Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy said. "The TV ... showed it was good. Either way, it was a great game. They made some great plays and we made some great plays."

Tinsley was not guarded on his key inbounds pass.

"I was really surprised to get a clear look at it," Tinsley said. "I just had a feeling Ffriend was going to extend too far. I just hoped Martin would catch the ball."

Tinsley led the Cyclones with 23 points. Kantrail Horton had 12 points and Tyray Pearson had 10 rebounds as Iowa State (15-3, 3-2) won its first Big 12 road game.

"At the end, it was defensive confusion on our part. You can play it over and over again, but credit Iowa State with making the final shot," Nebraska coach Barry Collier said.

Iowa State pulled out to a 10-point lead early in the second half. The Cornhuskers never let the Cyclones get away and rallied to tie it.

The Huskers (8-9, 1-2) took their first lead since the opening possession when Ffriend missed two free throws, but Rodney Fields got the rebound and hit a spinning shot through traffic to put Nebraska up 59-58 with 17 seconds left.

"It was a great play by Fields to get the shot to give us a one-point lead," Collier said.

Cary Cochran led Nebraska with 16 points, including a 3-pointer that got Nebraska within 58-57 with about a minute left. It was Cochran's fourth 3-pointer of the game.

"There are some positives if you look hard enough," Cochran said. "We didn't play well, but with point-8 seconds left we still had a chance to win it."

Fields finished with 12 points and Cookie Belcher scored 10 for the Huskers. Nebraska's Steffon Bradford had 10 rebounds, stepping in when Ffriend went out with foul trouble early in the second half.

The Cyclones lost 6-foot-10 forward Paul Shirley, who averages 12.6 points and 7.5 rebounds, when he fouled out with 7:50 left to play. Shirley had just two points and four rebounds, but Pearson filled in nicely, getting 10 rebounds.

Iowa State led 27-24 at halftime after shooting 45 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

The Cyclones had led by as much as 12 as Nebraska went 7:50 without a point after Ffriend's short jump shot 17 seconds into the game. Belcher finally snapped the drought on a jumper with 11:53 left in the half, which started an 8-0 run that got the Huskers back in the game.

Nebraska opened the game 1-for-9, but made nine of their next 13 to close the gap.

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Players Mentioned

Kantrail Horton

Kantrail Horton

Tyray Pearson

Tyray Pearson

Martin Rancik

Martin Rancik

Paul Shirley

Paul Shirley

Jamaal Tinsley

Jamaal Tinsley

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