Nebraska men’s basketball’s struggles continued as the Huskers lost their fourth straight game Sunday, falling 69-66 at Maryland. The loss dropped the Huskers to just 2-5 in Big Ten play and just 1-4 in true road games.
Nebraska got off to a slow start, trailing 14-7 after committing six turnovers in the game’s first seven minutes. But unlike last Sunday, when the Huskers never shook off the poor start and were blown out by Purdue, the Huskers were much more competitive Sunday. Nebraska took its first lead of the game with 6:18 remaining until halftime on a Connor Essegian three-pointer that made it NU 27-26. The Terrapins struck back and led 37-35 heading to halftime.
The first 11 minutes of the second half were back and forth. But behind Rodney Rice, who scored seven straight points as part of a larger 10-0 run, the Terrapins took control of the game and led 64-55 with 6:47 remaining. The Cornhuskers weren’t done, though. After the teams traded baskets, Nebraska went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 66 with just over a minute to go. But on the next trip down the floor, Ja’Kobi Gillespie hit a layup to give Maryland a 68-66 lead with 40 seconds to go. On the next possession, an Ahron Ulis pass was picked off. Rice hit one of two free throws, and Essegian missed a three on the Huskers’ last possession to end the game.
Andrew Morgan came off the bench to lead the Huskers in scoring with 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Morgan hit the 1,000 career points mark in the game, as did Juwan Gary, who had six points for the game. . Brice Williams added 14 points on 6-for-14 shooting. No other Nebraska player scored more than eight points, though Ulis had 10 assists. Maryland was led by Gillespie’s 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting with five three-pointers. Rice added 15 and Selton Miguel tallied 13 points. Julian Reese nearly had a double-double for the Terps with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Nebraska returns to action Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena, facing USC. Pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. on KLIN.