No. 15 Nebraska men’s basketball shook off a slow start to knock off North Dakota, 78-55, Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Cornhuskers head into Christmas break undefeated with the best start to a season in school history, at 12-0.
Berke Buyuktuncel registered the fourth triple-double in Nebraska men’s basketball history with 12 points, a team-high 11 rebounds and a team-high 10 assists. Braden Frager led the Huskers’ scoring with 17 points, while Sam Hoiberg added 15. Jamarcus Lawrence contributed 13. The Fighting Hawks (5-10) were led by the 13 points of Eli King. Marley Curtis pitched in 10 for UND.
North Dakota bolted out to a 16-8 lead midway through the first half. The Huskers fought their way back into it, but the Hawks led at half, 26-24, as Nebraska made just 28 percent of their field-goal attempts, including just two-for-18 from behind the arc.
The Huskers came alive in the second half, hitting 63 percent of their shots. Nebraska scored the first six points after halftime, taking a 30-26 lead, before the Fighting Hawks answered with five straight points, jumping ahead 31-30 with 16:22 to play. A 13-1 run by Nebraska gave the Huskers the lead, 43-32 with 11:12 to go. An 11-1 run by NU ballooned the lead to 54-38 with 7:19 remaining. Another 11-2 run by Nebraska took all the drama out of the contest, as the Huskers led 71-49 with 2:31 remaining.
The Huskers will break for Christmas, then play one more non-conference game against New Hampshire on Dec. 30 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m., with pregame coverage at 7 p.m. on KLIN.