Huskers lose 104-100 4OT heartbreaker to NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. - On a night that matched the longest game ever played in Nebraska men’s basketball history, no one play or sequence solely defined the Huskers’ 104-100 loss to North Carolina State on Wednesday.

The Wolfpack attempted 27 more free throws than NU (42-15) for a 20-point advantage at the line. They also had 19 second-chance points off of 24 offensive rebounds.

But Nebraska (5-3) still had numerous chances to pull out a victory but time and again came up short in the final seconds at the end of regulation and each of the four overtimes. That marked just the second four OT game in program history and the first since Dec. 22, 1979, vs. Alabama-Birmingham.

Three Huskers were ejected from the game during a mid-court scuffle, including starting forward Lat Mayen. Four players were on the court for at least 43 minutes, including a whopping 58 for freshman Bryce McGowens and 54 for senior Alonzo Verge.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg said afterward that he loved the fight and resilience his group showed through the most adversity a team could face in a single game. In the end, though, the night still finished with a loss that was by far NU’s most frustrating yet.

After a sloppy start that saw Nebraska turn it over on four of their first seven possessions and fall behind by as many as nine points, the Huskers adjusted to the pace and put on one of their best offensive halves of the season.

Nebraska shot 57% from the field, out-rebounded NC State 16-14, and scored 24 points in the paint to take a 39-38 halftime lead.

The Huskers looked like they were about to break the game open in the second half, as NC State (6-1) made one field goal over six minutes and NU led by as many as 14 after a jumper by Kobe Webster made it 61-47 with 9:51 left in regulation.

Things quickly unraveled on Nebraska from there. The Wolfpack responded with a 14-0 run and tied it at 61-61 on a 3-pointer by Jericole Hellems with 6:08 to play. As if that weren’t enough, a scuffle broke out afterward, and three Huskers - Mayen, Eduardo Andre, and Oleg Kojenets - were ejected along with NCSU’s Cam Hayes, who had 14 points.

Even after all that, NU had a chance to win it on the final possession with the score tied 70-70. Verge drove to the rim, and while replays showed a defender clearly hit his left shooting wrist, there was no foul called, and the game went to overtime.

It took nearly four minutes into the first overtime for either team to score again, but Nebraska again had the ball in the final seconds to win it. This time a fadeaway mid-range shot by Verge missed the mark to send it to double OT.

McGowens hit two free throws to put the Huskers up 81-76 with 2:44 left in the third overtime. Those marked NU’s first free-throw attempts since the 12:30 mark in the second half.

McGowens then missed a leaner with 10.6 remaining, and Dereon Seaborn hit a layup with 4.6 left to put NCSU up 86-85. Nebraska got its biggest break yet on the ensuing inbound when McGowens was fouled 80 feet from the basket for two free throws and a chance to tie and win it with 2.5 to go in the third OT.

After making the first, McGowens’ second shot rimmed in and then out to leave it knotted at 86-86 move the game to a third overtime. That marked NU’s first triple-overtime game since Jan. 13, 1996, at Oklahoma.

The Huskers again jumped out to a 92-88 lead in the third OT on a basket by Wilhelm Breidenbach with 2:14 left. But the Wolfpack rallied back once more and sent it to a fourth extra period on a layup by Ebenezer Dowuona with just five seconds remaining.

Nebraska ran out of gas from there, as Terquavion Smith hit a 3-pointer 19 seconds in, and North Carolina State led for the rest of the fourth overtime. As fate would have it, former Husker guard Thomas Allen - who didn’t enter the game until the 2:14 mark in the third OT - was the one to seal the deal with two free throws with 1.1 to go.

Verge finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five turnovers before fouling out in the final overtime. McGowens followed up with 24 points and nine boards, while Derrick Walker scored 12 with 10 rebounds.

North Carolina State had four players score in double figures, but Seaborn carried the majority of the load with 39 points (17-of-20 on free throws) and 18 rebounds in 57 minutes of work.

1. The officiating was a disaster

While this might seem like a homer take, the officiating crew of Teddy Valentine, Bill Covington Jr., and Tony Henderson was a total mess on Wednesday night.

The discrepancy on the fouls called, and free throws awarded between Nebraska and North Carolina State was stunning.

The Huskers were whistled for 31 fouls to NC State's 19, and the Wolfpack enjoyed a 20-point advantage on 27 more free-throw attempts. NU didn't even get into the double bonus until the third OT.

But the issues went well beyond one team getting calls over the other.

Verge was blatantly fouled on his left wrist while going up for what could have been the game-winning layup at the end of regulation.

The officials then awarded a jump ball possession to Nebraska after Breidenbach tied up with a Wolfpack player on a defensive rebound with 1:46 left in the third overtime. But the refs went to the replay monitor, and Valentine overruled the call and charged Breidenbach with a defensive foul instead.

That turned a four-point lead and the Huskers' ball to two NCSU free throws, making it 92-90.

All of that doesn't even mention the altercation that led to four ejections in the second half. Because of the physicality the officials were letting the teams get away with, tensions eventually reached a boiling point.

Hoiberg declined to say much about the officiating after the game, but his frustration was evident.

"Yeah, I can't discuss it," Hoiberg said. "I thought Alonzo had a really good take to the basket there (at the end of regulation) that we'd work on a lot... But I can't say anything else about it.

"This happens on the road, and you've got to find a way to stick together."

2. A night of highs and lows for McGowens

On the positive side, McGowens posted his fourth 20-point effort of the season to move up to fourth on the school's all-time freshman list.

His 58 minutes played were also just two shy of the Nebraska single-game record of 60, set by Jack Moore and Andre Smith in the Huskers' only other four-overtime game in 1979.

The heralded freshman made plenty of big plays to keep NU alive on Wednesday night. But as he spoke with me after the loss, all McGowens could think about was one shot he didn't make.

McGowens kept going back to his miss of the second free throw that would have given Nebraska an 87-86 lead with just 2.5 seconds remaining in the second overtime. A picture taken by NC State's media team showed the ball almost went halfway down the basket before somehow rolling out.

That play will likely stick with McGowens for a while. But it will be imperative for him to put that miss behind as quickly as possible.

"At the end of the day, I feel like I've got to knock the free throws down at the end," McGowens said. "That's on me. I've got to make those. Got to."

3. How the Huskers respond will be critical

As gut-wrenching as Wednesday night's loss was, there were still plenty of positives Nebraska could take away from the game.

In their first true road experience together as a team, Hoiberg wanted to see how his group would handle that type of new adversity.

As it turned out, NU faced about as much adversity as a team could imagine in a variety of ways, and it still found a way to fight through regulation and nearly four overtimes.

The question now is, with two Big Ten games next up on the schedule at Indiana and home vs. Michigan, will the Huskers be able to carry over that resilience against even stiffer competition.

If Nebraska can continue to battle as it did at NC State, it will give itself a chance against almost every team it plays this season.

"I'm just so proud of our team for continuing to battle and showing a lot of resolve, fighting like hell through some tough times out there," Hoiberg said. "It was a very gutty performance by our team, and I'm proud of them."