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Lawrence's game-winner lifts Nebraska basketball to 83-80 victory over No. 13 Illinois

Joseph Maierby: Joseph Maier4 hours agoJosephMaier29

Jamarques Lawrence beat the buzzer to knock off No. 13 Illinois, securing Nebraska’s first 11-0 start in program history. The Huskers kept their undefeated record alive in a back-and-forth outing that came down to the wire.

Pryce Sandfort carried the load with a career day. He racked up 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including six 3-pointers.

Lawrence and Rienk Mast had excellent second halves. Lawrence finished with 14 points and six assists while Mast added 17 points and seven rebounds.

The Huskers shot 51.6% from the field and 46.2% from deep. Despite committing 21 fouls to Illinois’ nine and losing the rebounding battle 34-27, Sandfort’s hot start and a gritty finish helped Nebraska improve to 11-0.

Here is an instant recap of the victory:

Sandfort’s hot start

Sandfort came out on a heater. He scored all of Nebraska’s first 15 points, including an 11-0 personal run with three 3-point makes. The junior forward made six of his first seven field goal attempts.

Illinois couldn’t get shots to fall early, starting 2-of-10 from the field and 0-for-8 from deep. The Huskers jumped out to a 13-4 lead before the Fighting Illini finally snapped a three-minute scoring drought.

Berke Buyuktuncel was the first non-Sandfort Husker to score nearly eight minutes into the contest. On the next possession, Lawrence drilled a corner 3-pointer to give Nebraska a 20-8 lead and force an Illinois timeout with 11:36 left in the half.

Guard Kylan Boswell finally made Illinois’ first 3-pointer with 8:28 left in the first half, pulling the Fighting Illini within eight points at the under-eight timeout, 22-14. With Sandfort on the bench, the Huskers failed to score for over three minutes.

Sandfort checked in and immediately got back to work. He drove to the rim for a contested layup and, on the next possession, knocked down a corner 3-pointer with a hand in his face. He wasn’t done. Sandfort dribbled up the court and heaved a deep triple to put the Huskers back up by 14, 30-16.

Illinois claws back

Sandfort knocked down his sixth 3-pointer with 4:15 left in the first half, extending Nebraska’s lead to 37-24. The Huskers were rolling.

It all went downhill from there, however. Nebraska didn’t score another point before halftime as the Fighting Illini embarked on a 13-0 run to tie the game.

Outside of Sandfort’s monster first half, the Huskers’ offense sputtered. Only three other Huskers made a field goal.

10 Nebraska fouls helped keep the Fighting Illini around. Illinois also dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Huskers 23-14 in the first half. 10 offensive rebounds resulted in 14 second-chance points.

After a horrendous start, Illinois finished the half on a 5-of-10 run from deep. They erased the deficit with one fell swoop, tying things up 37-37 at the break.

Lawrence caps off a gritty second half

Lawrence scored eight of Nebraska’s first 10 second-half points, including a beautiful cut to the rim. Both teams traded buckets as Nebraska held on to a slim 50-47 lead at the under-16 timeout.

Zvonimir Ivisic flushed an emphatic dunk, but was called for a technical foul on the celebration. Sandfort knocked down both free throws to extend Nebraska’s advantage to 56-51. Mast hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and followed it up with a put-back, capping off a 7-0 Husker run.

Illinois came out of the under-12 timeout with seven straight points. Forward Andrej Stojakovic started to heat up with multiple strong drives to the basket. Seven straight fouls on Nebraska helped the Fighting Illini pull within three.

Sam Hoiberg stopped the bleeding before Mast knocked down his second 3-pointer of the second half. Nebraska remained in front, but found itself in foul trouble. With five minutes left, Sandfort and Hoiberg had three fouls while Buyuktuncel had four.

Forward Jared Garcia decided to take over, scoring six straight Nebraska points. Despite Stojakovic‘s best efforts, the Huskers refused to give up their multi-possession lead. At the under-four media timeout, they led 74-67.

With four fouls to his name, Hoiberg drove for a crucial layup, but the Fighting Illini answered with a triple at the other end. Two free throws from Boswell pulled Illinois within two, 76-74

Garcia earned a trip to the line and knocked down two massive free throws, but 3-pointers from Ben Humrichous and Tomislav Ivisic tied the game 80-80 with 16 seconds left.

Just before the clock hit zero, Lawrence knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to give Nebraska an 83-80 win and its first 11-0 start in program history.

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