After a 24-4 run put the Longhorns up by twelve points with seventeen minutes left, it appeared that Texas could coast to a much-needed road win over a low-scoring Nebraska team. But as they have done numerous times this season, the Longhorns melted down the stretch and made questionable decisions in the final minutes to choke away another victory. This time, it resulted in a 58-55 loss in Lincoln, Nebraska, just the second time in the last eleven years that Texas has been defeated by the Cornhuskers.

The Longhorns (15-7 overall, 4-4 Big 12) built their large lead with solid defensive play, holding Nebraska to just two field goals during a thirteen minute stretch spanning both halves. But poor three-point defense reared its ugly head once again, as the Huskers (15-7, 5-4) hit four of five from long range the rest of the way, including an Ade Dagunduro rainbow taken from just outside Omaha that put them ahead for good.

Poor decision making was again a culprit in the loss, as A.J. Abrams tried to force the issue once again. With Texas only down two and holding the ball with 30 seconds to play, Abrams fought a futile battle to work for an open shot. But with three defenders in his face, rather than looking for his open teammates, he decided to force up a prayer from 25 feet. It was the second straight game where Abrams forced up a contested trey in the waning seconds, as his long-range look in a tie game against Missouri clanged off the rim with 32 ticks left on Wednesday night.

The loss was the third straight for Texas, who now drops into sixth place in the Big 12, half a game behind Kansas State and Nebraska, teams which now both hold tiebreakers over the Longhorns. The three-game skid is the first since the 2004-05 season, a year in which they were without LaMarcus Aldridge (hip injury) and P.J. Tucker (academic ineligibility). You would have to go all the way back to 1997-98 — the last season of the Tom Penders era — to find another such slide in Texas history.

Lost in the sting of defeat were solid performances by Dexter Pittman and Damion James. Big Dex was a force down low, but his game was hampered by foul trouble throughout. Pittman and the rest of the Longhorns seemed to be a step behind the smaller, quicker Nebraska guards, and the infractions quickly piled up. With Dexter’s minutes spread out, James had to step up on the glass, and did so in a big way. He finished the game with 13 points and 12 rebounds, despite fighting his own foul trouble.

The road doesn’t get any easier for Texas, with the Oklahoma State Cowboys arriving at the Frank Erwin Center on Tuesday night, currently ranked 11th in the nation in three-point percentage. For a Longhorn team that has let many opponents thrive from the perimeter, the outlook remains troublesome.