LINCOLN, Neb. — That one is going to sting awhile.
 
The Sam Houston men's basketball team led for most of the game but could not hold off a late surge by Nebraska in a 74-65 setback at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday.
 
Graduate transfer Savion Flagg led the Bearkats (1-1) with a game-high 31 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Javion May added eight points, and senior Demarkus Lampley chipped in seven.
 
Nebraska (1-1) trailed the majority of the first half but finally closed the gap at 41-40 in the second thanks to an old fashion three-point play. Sam Houston answered with a 4-0 run on a jumper by Flagg and a fastbreak layup by freshman JD Ray, who scored six, at the 13:51 mark.
 
The Huskers again got with one at 45-44 and free throws allowed Nebraska to take its first lead since early in the first half at 46-45.
 
Free throws sealed the deal for the Huskers as they went to the line 36 times converting 26 with 19 of those coming in the final 20 minutes. Sam Houston, on the other hand, only shot 8 of 16 from the line for the game.
 
The Bearkats came out firing, hitting seven 3-pointers in the first half to take the lead into the break. Sam Houston led by as many as 10 at 22-12 when Flagg drained a 3 with just over seven minutes left in the opening half.
 
The Cornhuskers answered with a 4-0 run until freshman JD Ray scored a layup to make it 24-18. Flagg then followed with a pair of 3s and sent the Bearkats into the half on top 32-27 when he connected on a floater in the lane as time expired.
 
Sam Houston only hit two of its 13 3-point attempts in the second half even though the Bearkats had some wide-open looks. SHSU did win the rebounding battle 45-40.