HUSKER MEN’S BASKETBALL: Purdue Uses Second Half Run To Beat Nebraska
LINCOLN–(NU Athletics Feb. 20)–Purdue used a 19-4 second-half run en route to a 75-58 win over Nebraska in men’s basketball Saturday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Nebraska led 49-46 after Teddy Allen’s jumper with 13:14 left, but Purdue took control over the next six minutes, as Sasha Stefanovic had eight of his 14 points off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers in an 8-0 run which stretched the Purdue lead from six to 14 with 6:50 remaining.
The Huskers, who used a 16-4 run to erase an 11-point deficit in building a 44-42 lead with 17:43 left, made one last run, as Allen hit consecutive baskets to get Nebraska within 67-57 with 4:19 left, but Stefanovic hit a pair of 3-pointers to push the lead back out to 16 with 3:22 left.
Jaden Ivey paced the Boilermakers with 15 points, while Brandon Newman added 10 points and seven rebounds. NU limited Trevion Williams, who was averaging 16.4 points per game and had 28 against Michigan State, to just nine points on 4-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes.
Shamiel Stevenson led the Huskers (5-15, 1-12 Big Ten) with 10 points off the bench, as the Husker reserves combined for 37 points, their highest total of Big Ten play. Thorir Thorbjarnarson, Kobe Webster and Trey McGowens had nine points each, while Yvan Ouedraogo had seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Purdue jumped out to an early 12-4 lead before the Huskers regrouped behind its reserves, using an 11-2 lead to take a 15-14 lead on a 3-pointer from Kobe Webster. Late in the half, Purdue used a 6-0 spurt to turn a 29-25 lead to a 10-point cushion and eventually got it to 11 following Ivey’s 3-point play with 1:53 left in the half.
The Huskers then turned the tide, closing the half with an 11-2 run, capped by Thorbjarnarson’s 3-pointer to beat the first half buzzer. NU kept the reserves in to open the second half and ran off five straight points after Thorbjarnarson’s 3-pointer gave the Huskers a 44-42 lead with 18:44 left.
The Huskers stay in Lincoln to host Penn State on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The game tips off at 7 p.m. with television coverage by the Big Ten Network
