Behind a career high 33 points from Pryce Sandfort, the No. 9 Nebraska men’s basketball team cruised to an 87-64 win over Penn State Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Sandfort was 11-for-17 from the field, including 8-for-14 from behind the three-point arc, and was also the Cornhuskers’ (23-4, 12-4 Big Ten) leading rebounder with nine. Sam Hoiberg notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Braden Frager, pushed into the starting lineup due to illness to Berke Buyuktuncel, tallied 15 points. The Nittany Lions (11-16, 2-14 Big Ten) were led by Ivan Juric and Kayden Mingo, who both scored 13 points. Juric also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Josh Reed added 11 for PSU.
Nebraska hit 40 percent of its three-pointers (14-for-35) after struggling shooting from the perimeter in the loss Tuesday at Iowa. The Huskers also won the rebounding battle, 36-33, after getting dominated on the glass by the Hawkeyes. NU also moved the ball well, registering 22 assists on 32 field goals.
Nebraska led 10-9 five minutes into the game, then scored 10 straight points to open a 20-9 advantage with 11:35 to go at half. A 9-0 run late in the first half grew the Huskers’ lead to 33-15 with two minutes to go in the first half. Nebraska led 38-20 at halftime.
Penn State cut the NU lead to 38-25 with 18:14 to go in regulation before the Huskers raced out on a 17-2 run to open the lead to 55-27 with 14 minutes to play. Nebraska cruised from there to victory. A minor dark spot came in the second half as Jamarcus Lawrence left the game with an ankle injury. His prognosis moving forward is not known.
The Huskers return to action Wednesday at home, taking on Maryland. Pregame coverage begins at 5 p.m., with tipoff at 6 p.m. on KLIN.