No. 13 Oklahoma St. 77, Nebraska 70

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton knows he has a lot of work to do. That was evident Wednesday night during the No. 13 Cowboys' 77-70 victory over Nebraska. ``I

Thursday, February 13th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton knows he has a lot of work to do.

That was evident Wednesday night during the No. 13 Cowboys' 77-70 victory over Nebraska.

``I don't think we're playing as well as we did three weeks ago. We're happy to get out of here with a win,'' Sutton said.

The Cowboys' Victor Williams struggled in the first half, making just two of his seven shots, before Sutton challenged him to assert himself. Williams responded by scoring 20 of his 25 points in the second half, including 11 during a key run.

``I tried to get aggressive,'' said Williams, who shot 7-of-11 in the second half. ``Coach really wanted me to get aggressive. He was running a lot of plays for me, and I had to come through strong.''

Oklahoma State (19-3, 8-1 Big 12) trailed 30-25 at the half to a team that ranks last in the conference. Sutton not only got after Williams, he urged Ivan McFarlin and Melvin Sanders to pick up their play.

``They certainly responded,'' Sutton said. ``Williams hit some big shots and Sanders was dominant on the boards. I thought the second half, we played pretty well.''

Oklahoma State took the lead at 34-32 when Sanders threw an inbounds pass off the back of a Nebraska player, retrieved the ball and made a layup.

Nebraska (9-13, 1-8) went back ahead at 50-47 on Brian Conklin's 3-pointer with nine minutes left. Oklahoma State then went on a 22-8 run, and Williams made consecutive baskets to give the Cowboys the lead for good with 8:09 left.

The Cornhuskers made just one basket _ another 3-pointer by Conklin _ in the next seven minutes as the Cowboys opened up a 69-58 lead. Williams ended the run with a jumper with 1:51 remaining.

Nebraska made a last-minute rally, cutting the lead to six on Brennon Clemmons' 3-pointer with 23 seconds left. Oklahoma State threw the ball away on its next possession, but Nebraska's John Turek missed a 3-pointer, then two free throws.

Clemmons scored 21 points to lead the Cornhuskers, who have lost six straight. Nate Johnson added 17.

McFarlin scored 17, while Sanders had 16. But Williams did most of the damage for the Cowboys.

``Victor Williams, he was in charge,'' Nebraska coach Barry Collier said. ``Early on, he missed some shots and turned it over a lot. But he battled through it and had a great game.''

Oklahoma State stayed in a tie for the Big 12 lead with Kansas.

The Cowboys bounced back from Sunday's 61-50 loss at Cincinnati, in which they shot 34% from the floor. They shot 61% in the first half Wednesday night and 47% for the game; Nebraska shot 38%.

Oklahoma State also had a 48-35 rebounding advantage.