National Basketball Association
Nebraska 63, Bethune-Cookman 58
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 9, 2024
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
Officials:
# Amy Bonner, # Jeffrey Anderson, # Scott Brown
Attendance:
15138
By Field Level Media
Juwan Gary had 11 points and nine rebounds and Nebraska overcame a sloppy performance to beat visiting Bethune-Cookman 63-58 in a nonconference game Saturday night in Lincoln, Neb.
Brice Williams added 10 for the Cornhuskers, who shot 34.5 percent from the field, made only 4 of 22 3-pointers and turned it over 18 times. That was still better than Bethune-Cookman, which shot 35.5 percent overall and turned it away 22 times, which Nebraska turned into 21 points.
Nebraska (2-0) had its biggest advantage at the line, going 21-of-26, while Bethune-Cookman (0-2) was just 5-of-7.
The Cornhuskers led 29-24 at halftime despite shooting only 25.8 percent, but after making only 1 of 10 3-point attempts in the first half, Nebraska drained two in the first two minutes of the second half to build a 35-26 lead. The margin grew to 46-30 with 13:55 left thanks to a 9-0 run.
Bethune-Cookman followed that with an 8-0 run that featured all of its made free throws for the game, and a 7-0 run got the Wildcats within 51-48 with 6:49 remaining. But they didn't score again until the 2:30 mark, with Nebraska having built a 55-48 lead.
Gianni Hunt, who led Bethune-Cookman with 10 points, cut Nebraska's lead to 59-56 with a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left, but the Wildcats couldn't get closer.
Connor Essegian and Williams each hit a pair of free throws down the stretch for the Cornhuskers to help secure the win.
It was a sloppy start, as both teams turned it over six times in the first eight minutes. Bethune-Cookman was able to build a 12-6 lead during that time, but Nebraska went ahead 15-14 on a pair of free throws from Williams with 7:43 left in the first half.
The Cornhuskers missed 13 of 14 shots at one point, yet still built a 25-18 advantage with 2:49 to go before the half on a Braxton Meah dunk. Meah finished with nine points and four rebounds.
Bethune-Cookman continues a season-opening, three-game road trip with a visit Tuesday to Purdue-Fort Wayne, while Nebraska hosts Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Bethune-Cookman |
|
Nebraska |
|
Gianni Hunt 10 |
Scoring |
Juwan Gary 11 |
|
Jesus Carralero 4 |
Assists |
Gavin Griffiths 3 |
|
Kalil Camara 7 |
Rebounds |
Juwan Gary 9 |
|
Reggie Ward Jr. 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Connor Essegian 4 |
|
Jesus Carralero 2 |
Steals |
Juwan Gary 5 |
|
Jesus Carralero 2 |
Blocks |
Berke Buyuktuncel 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Bethune-Cookman
|
58 |
35.5 |
9-26 |
5-7 |
11 |
37 |
5 |
5 |
22 |
| Nebraska
|
63 |
34.5 |
4-22 |
21-26 |
11 |
38 |
4 |
11 |
18 |
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