Nebraska men’s basketball overcame poor shooting from behind the arc (4-for-22 three-point shooting) and 18 turnovers to defeat Bethune-Cookman, 63-58, Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. For their part, the Huskers forced the Wildcats into 22 turnovers, which resulted in 21 points for NU.
The other advantage Nebraska held was at the free-throw line, where the Huskers were 21-for-26 while BCU was just 5-for-7. Everything else was close to a stalemate. Both teams shot a meager 35 percent from the field. Nebraska held only a slight edge on the boards, 41-39, and both teams had 11 assists.
Juwan Gary was the Huskers’ individual bright spot, with 11 points and nine rebounds. Bryce Williams followed up a great opener with 11 points, but also six turnovers. Gianni Cook led Bethune-Cookman with 10 points and six rebounds.
Bethune-Cookman raced out to a 10-4 lead with 14:54 to go in the first half. The teams traded twos before a 6-0 Husker run evened the score at 12. The Huskers went on to build a 25-18 lead with 2:49 to go and Nebraska took a 29-24 lead to the halftime locker room.
The Huskers went on a 9-0 run early in the second half to open a 46-30 lead with 13:55 to go, the largest lead of the game. But BCU scored the next eight points to stay in the game and cut the Nebraska lead to 46-38. A 7-0 Wildcats run cut the Huskers’ lead to 51-48 with 6:49 to play. BCU cut it to a three-point deficit one more time, 61-58 with 19 seconds to play, but two free throws by Williams wrapped up the game for the Huskers.
Nebraska now prepares to face Farleigh Dickinson Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Pregame coverage begins at 6 p.m. on KLIN.