Mast, Nebraska top No. 8 BYU 90-89 in exhibition opener
Fred Hoiberg made it clear that Nebraska wouldn’t overreact to whatever happened, good or bad, in Saturday’s exhibition opener vs. eighth-ranked BYU.
Yet with the way the Huskers played in their 90-89 upset over the Cougars, it was even difficult for the seventh-year NU coach not to come away optimistic.
Led by a breakout return from star forward Rienk Mast, Nebraska shot 50 percent from the field and hit 16-of-34 (47.1%) 3-pointers in the win.
Mast, playing in his first game since the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament, came out firing from the jump for a game-high 31 points. The senior shot a blistering 7-of-8 from 3-point range and 11-of-15 from the field.
After trailing by as many as 11 midway through the first half, NU fired back with a 10-0 run and only trailed 50-46 at halftime. Another 8-0 burst to open the second half, including hitting five of their first six threes to put Nebraska up by as much as 76-63 with 10:30 remaining.
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Leading by 11 with just over five minutes to play, though, the Huskers suddenly went cold. They missed seven of their next eight shots and went over five minutes without a field goal. As a result, BYU rallied back with a 13-3 run and cut the deficit to one in the final seconds.
However, the Cougars missed two shots in the last 10.3 seconds to help NU seal the upset.
Connor Essegian scored 20 points with five made 3-pointers in the win. Jamarques Lawrence had four points, seven rebounds, and a game-high nine assists. Overall, the Huskers had 24 assists on their 32 made shots while only committing 10 turnovers.
AJ Dybansta, BYU’s stellar freshman and potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, led the Cougars with 30 points and seven rebounds. Former first-team All-Big 12 guard Richie Saunders had 11 points but only shot 4-of-12 overall and 3-of-10 on threes.
Nebraska will play a second exhibition game against Midland on Monday, Oct. 27, before opening the regular season vs. West Georgia on Nov. 3.
