Huskers pull out critical 63-60 victory over Ohio State
Wednesday night’s home game against Ohio State was critical for Nebraska to keep its postseason hopes alive. With the help of almost every available player on its roster, the Huskers found a way to get it done in a 63-60 victory at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
With Juwan Gary (shoulder) out of the lineup and Derrick Walker limited to 23 minutes due to foul trouble, it was an all-hands-on-deck approach for NU. All nine NU players who saw the floor scored in the win, including 16 points off the bench.
After a rock fight first half, Nebraska found itself up six with 43 seconds remaining. But it wasn’t until a last-second 3-pointer by the Buckeyes’ Sean McNeil rimmed out at the buzzer that NU finally put the game away.
Sam Griesel scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half, while Keisei Tominaga added 11 in his second start of the season. The Huskers scored 21 points and shot 30% in the first half. They doubled their points and field goal percentage in the second.
That was enough for NU to improve its record to 10-9 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play. Ohio State dropped to 10-8 and 2-5 and has now lost five straight games.
Offense was nowhere to be found early
The offense on both ends of the floor couldn’t have been much worse than it was for the first 20 minutes.
Ohio State started the game just 1-of-11 from the field and had three points through the game’s first seven minutes. Yet Nebraska only led 8-3 and didn’t reach double figures until a jumper by C.J. Wilcher with 10:17 left in the half.
The Buckeyes didn’t get to 10 points until the 8:11 mark, as freshman standout Brice Sensabaugh (16.9 ppg) missed his first eight shots. However, Sensabaugh scored seven of OSU’s next eight over the final 4:08 to take a 22-21 lead into halftime.
Nebraska shot 30% with zero assists in the first half, while the Buckeyes scored 26.7%. The teams combined to go 3-of-21 from behind the arc, with NU missing 12 of its 14 tries from 3-point range.
A wild finish
The offense finally picked up slightly in the second half. Nebraska made three of four shots early on, including two 3-pointers by Tominaga and Griesel to reclaim the lead.
Griesel scored eight of his 15 points in the first six minutes after halftime and helped NU go up 36-33. A technical foul on head coach Fred Hoiberg soon after woke the home crowd, but Walker went to the bench with his fourth foul with 11:53 still to play.
The Huskers responded by going on a 12-4 run to turn a two-deficit into a 55-49 advantage with 5:14 left to play. Ohio State cut it to two over the next three minutes, but four straight points by Emmanuel Bandoumel got NU back up 59-53 with 1:03 on the clock.
Nebraska converted four of its final six free throws, including one by Wilcher that made it 63-60 with 10 seconds to go.
Hoiberg said he wanted to foul OSU before it could attempt a game-tying 3-pointer, but the foul never happened. Luckily for the Huskers, McNeil’s shot rolled off the rim to preserve the victory.
Walker finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, and four assists despite only playing 23 minutes before fouling out. Denim Dawson started his first game as a Husker in place of Gary and posted seven points and eight boards in a career-high 30 minutes.
Sensabaugh led Ohio State with 18 points before fouling out late in the second half. As a team, the Buckeyes went 15-of-23 at the free-throw line, including 10-of-17 in the second half.
Nebraska will return to action on Saturday with a road trip to Penn State for a 1:15 p.m. CT tip on Big Ten Network.
