Nebraska men’s basketball erased a 10-point halftime deficit, dominating the second half in an 86-72 victory at Washington late Wednesday night in Seattle. The win was the Huskers’ (15-8, 5-7 B1G) third straight and the second straight road win for NU.
It started bumpy for Nebraska. The Huskies (11-11, 2-9 B1G) hit their first seven attempts from behind the three-point line, building a 23-13 lead over the Huskers with 13:14 remaining. Nebraska began to return fire, but Washington’s 10-point lead held to halftime.
The second half, however, was all Huskers. A furious 15-2 run to start the second half swung the lead back to Nebraska. A three-pointer by Brice Williams with 15:06 to go gave NU the lead. A 12-4 run capped by a Connor Essegian three-pointer pushed the Huskers’ lead to 68-61 with 6:33 remaining. Nebraska cruised in from there to secure the victory.
Nebraska snared 19 of its 30 rebounds for the game in the second half, shooting 55 percent from the field and 6-for-9 from beyond the arc. The Huskers didn’t turn the ball over in the first 19:57 of the half, only turning it over to take a shot clock violation in the waning seconds of the period. Nebraska’s defense was much improved in the second half as well, as the Huskers took it away from Washington five times and held the Huskies to just 1-for-9 shooting from three-point range.
Juwan Gary led the resurgence in the second half, tallying 14 of his 17 points after halftime while shooting 5-for-7 from the field. Williams led Nebraska in scoring in the game overall with 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting including four three-pointers. Essegian contributed 16 points off the bench including four three-pointers. Essegian was the spearhead of a superior effort by the Huskers’ subs, as they outscored the Huskies’ bench, 36-26.
Nebraska will try to keep it rolling Sunday against Ohio State. Pregame coverage begins at noon with tipoff at 1 p.m. from Pinnacle Bank Arena on KLIN.