Cody Whitney of Asher, Okla., is thrown off Bells Blue after a 92-point ride in Saturday's second round of the Professional Bull Riders World Finals at Mandalay Bay. Whitney finished second in the round. Photo by John Locher.

Cody Whitney had the highest-marked ride of last year's PBR World Finals, scoring 94.75 points on legendary bull Little Yellow Jacket in the second round -- traditionally the toughest one for cowboys.

Whitney came within a point of winning this year's second round as well -- on his best friend's bull, no less -- with a 92-point ride on Bells Blue on Saturday at Mandalay Bay.

"It's kind of embarrassing. I can't ride the easy ones, just the hard ones, I guess," said Whitney, a 25-year-old from Asher, Okla., who finished fifth in the world last year but entered this season's finals in 23rd place. "In the second round, it's the rank pen and you've got to kind of get your game face on for them.

"There's just something about this round that I really like. It might fit my style better. I seem to get it done in the second round and that's what matters."

Dustin Hall won the round with a 93 on Here's Your Sign.

It was the third 90-point ride of the year for Whitney, who grew up with the bull's owner, Cord McCoy.

"He's been my best friend since we were 6 or 7. We grew up together and we did junior rodeo and high school rodeo together," he said. "We live 40 miles from each other and see each other all the time. I know that bull, probably not as good as him, but pretty close. It worked out good for us. He was real happy."

McCoy said he was rooting more for Whitney during the ride than his bull.

"I think I'll always be pulling for Cody Whitney," said McCoy, a fellow PBR athlete who was bucked off Okeechobee Spots. "When you match up a bull that grew up on your ranch with your best friend in the world riding him in Vegas, and see him get 92 points, it couldn't get any better.

"It looked like two wins to me. It's awesome."

It was only the second time Bells Blue was ridden in 13 career outings. Whitney was bucked by the bull in 7.8 seconds earlier this season.

"He had a different trip and it fit me better," he said. "I just need to put out more effort and try harder and I could be a top-five bull rider every year."

Five-time defending PBR stock contractor of the year Dillon Page, of D & H Cattle & Land Company, had high praise for bull and rider.

"He's a really, really hard bull to ride and it was a great bull ride," he said. "Cody Whitney's a great bull rider. He can stick it on anything that walks on his day."

Page said Saturday's bulls, which included nine of the top 10 in the world, were in a different class than Friday's.

"This is the rank pen. These are the best bulls we've got. They're sure bucking harder," he said. "Usually the first weekend, they bring a spinner pen in the first night and they're supposed to ride half of them. Then they bring the rank pen out and they just don't ride many.

"Then the last round of the weekend they bring in misfits and out-of-line bulls that are hard to ride and have got tricks, and they don't ride a lot of them either."

After 25 of 49 cowboys successfully rode their bulls in the first round, only 16 cowboys stayed on for eight seconds Saturday.

Eight PBR athletes have covered bulls in both rounds, including L.J. Jenkins, who took third place with a 90.75-point ride on Sir Patrick and leads the Finals with 180.75 points.

Wiley Peterson finished fourth with 90.5 points on Scaredy Cat and Greg Potter took fifth with 89.75 points on Mossy Oak Mudslinger, one of the top 10 bulls in the world who will be retired after this year's finals.

Other top-10 bulls in action Saturday included Big Bucks, Dr. Proctor, Just A Dream, Pandora's Box, Scene of the Crash and Walk This Way.

Hall, in his first year back with the PBR after three years on the Challenger Tour, is in second place in the event standings with 180 points.