Rienk Mast scored 31 points to lead Nebraska men’s basketball to an 80-73 victory over Winthrop Tuesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Cornhuskers remained undefeated, now 7-0.
Mast shot 11-for-18, including seven-for-11 from behind the three-point arc, to lead Nebraska. Cale Jacobsen and Braden Frager tallied 11 points each, while Pryce Sandfort scored 10 and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds. Kareem Rozier led the Eagles with 14 points, while Daylen Berry had 12 and Pharrell Boyogueno contributed 11.
The game started hotly contested, staying within five points until Nebraska opened a six-point lead, 21-15, midway through the first half. An 8-0 run for Winthrop gave the Eagles a 25-23 lead with 6:43 to go in the half. The Eagles took a 36-32 lead to halftime.
Back-to-back threes by Mast opened the second half and gave Nebraska a 38-36 lead. A Mast layup with 9:28 to go in the game opened the Huskers’ lead to 56-49. Mast went on a personal 8-0 run later in the half to grow NU’s lead to 67-54 with 5:35 remaining. An 8-0 Winthrop run shrunk Nebraska’s lead to 72-69 with 1:45 to go. Baskets by Sandfort and Jacobsen grew the lead back to 76-69 with 47 seconds to go. The Eagles got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Huskers are back in action Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena at 1 p.m. against USC-Upstate. Pregame coverage begins at noon on KLIN.