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Mast's second-half lifts Nebraska to an 80-73 win over Winthrop

by: Sam Ojeda45 minutes agoSamOjeda8

Nebraska (7-0) entered Thanksgiving week coming off an impressive showing in Kansas City. While the first-half against Winthrop (3-4) Tuesday night had the showings of a trap game, Rienk Mast responded with an explosive second-half to grab a 80-73 win.

The Huskers had to deal with the absence of Berke Büyüktuncel who was out with an injury. Freshman Braden Frager stepped in the starting role for the first start of his college career. Nebraska struggled on the glass without their second leading rebounder but weathered a strong Winthrop team to build off of the weekend’s momentum.

Here is an instant recap of the win over the Eagles….

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Cold shooting start haunts Huskers’ first-half

The first few minutes were sluggish for both sides, with each team committing a couple of turnovers. Jamarques Lawrence got the Huskers on the board with a jump stop floater. Frager, who received Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week, grabbed his first bucket as a starter, which gave Nebraska a 7-5 lead. The game was knotted at 12 at the under-12 timeout. At that point, the Huskers had already taken nine 3-pointers, with only two makes.

Büyüktuncel’s absence was notable early on. His 5.8 rebounds per game are good for second on the team behind Mast. Winthrop grabbed plenty of offensive rebounds in the first-half, which led to four second-chance points. The second effort from the Eagles led to them grabbing a 29-27 lead with six minutes to play. The Eagles’ starting forward Tommy Kamarad sank two 3-pointers in the half, both of which gave them the lead.

Both teams had issues shooting from long range in the first-half. They finished a combined 11-for-43 despite both teams being some of the better shooting teams in the NCAA. Despite the lack of scoring, Fred Hoiberg got quality minutes out of his bench unit. Jared Garcia saw heavy doses of first-half action after missing multiple games with a minor injury. The Tulsa transfer had four points, two rebounds, and a block in seven minutes of action. Cale Jacobsen posted three offensive rebounds and five overall in the half.

Winthrop’s starting guard Kareem Rozier played at Pinnacle Bank Arena as a member of the 2023-2024 Duquesne team that made an NCAA Tournament run. The senior, who put up 16 points in his previous game against Nebraska, tallied six first-half points, which helped propel the Eagles to a 36-32 halftime lead.

Mast muscles offense enough to scrape out a win

Mast came out of the locker room with an immediate response. The senior made his first two 3-point attempts to begin the half to give Nebraska a 38-36 lead with 18 minutes to play. The Huskers continued to battle to gain momentum, but the Eagles seemed to have an answer every time.

Pryce Sandfort struggled in the first half but came alive with 16 minutes left. The Iowa transfer entered the game coming off a 21-point effort against Kansas State. The junior landed a long-range 3-pointer from NBA distance to give Nebraska another lead. Unfortunately, NU fouled immediately on the other end to send Winthrop to the free-throw line at the under-16 timeout.

With the two teams continuing to vie for the momentum, Frager gave the Husker fans something to get loud for. With ten minutes left, Jacobsen grabbed a steal, throwing the ball down court, to Frager, who put an emphatic slam through the rim to give Nebraska a 54-49 and the momentum they needed to seal the deal.

Mast put Nebraska on his back with an explosive second-half. The senior went on a key 11-3 run by himself with six minutes to play capped off by a 3-pointer which gave Nebraska a 13-point lead. He eclipsed the 30-point mark with his fourth straight 3-pointer and his seventh of the game. Despite Winthrop’s best effort to claw back, the Huskers held on keeping the undefeated season alive making clutch free throws down the stretch for the second game in a row.

Nebraska continues with its non-conference slate Saturday Nov. 29. The Huskers host USC Upstate and tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. on BTN+.

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