Nebraska basketball survives in ugly 72-63 win over USC Upstate

Nebraska improved to 8-0 with a 72-63 win over USC Upstate on Saturday. The Huskers responded to a sluggish start, finishing the first half on a 17-3 run. They failed to pull away, however, as the Spartans stuck around all afternoon.

Pryce Sandfort led the way with 20 points while shooting 4-of-8 from deep. Rienk Mast added 15 points and six rebounds. Cale Jacobsen had a strong second half, with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the period.

The Huskers shot 42% from the field and 27% from deep in the win. They turned it over 13 times, but USC Upstate failed to capitalize, scoring just six points off Husker giveaways.

Here is an instant recap of the victory:

---

Bounced back from ugly start

It was a sloppy start to a wintry Saturday matinee. After two scoreless minutes, forward Berke Buyuktuncel muscled inside for a pair of layups, giving Nebraska its first lead of the day, 6-4.

However, Buyuktuncel also missed two early 3-pointers, and Nebraska shot 0-of-6 from deep to open the afternoon. They couldn’t find any rhythm inside either, starting 5-of-15 from the floor.

USC Upstate, on the other hand, came out firing. Guard Karmani Gregory was lights-out from behind the arc, nailing three 3-pointers before the under-12 timeout.

The Spartans started 5-of-10 from deep as a team, embarking on a 10-0 run. Guard Isaiah Skinner knocked down his second 3-pointer of the day, extending the lead to 23-11 with 10:33 left in the half.

The Huskers’ only points over a five-minute stretch came on forward Braden Frager‘s 1-of-2 trip to the line. Following a two-minute scoring drought for both sides, Mast forced himself down low and pulled the Huskers within 10. It marked their first field goal in 5:47 of game time.

Sandfort clawed Nebraska out of that hole with some heroics. He chucked a deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and then drilled another on the Huskers’ next trip down the floor.

Sandfort knocked down his third 3-pointer with 1:20 left in the half, giving Nebraska its first lead in over 14 minutes. The Huskers finished the half on a 17-3 run to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room.

USC Upstate was held scoreless for over seven minutes before Skinner beat the halftime buzzer with his third 3-point make of the day.

Nebraska racked up seven turnovers in the first period, as all sorts of miscommunication stifled the offense. The Spartans couldn’t capitalize, however, as they scored zero points off of Husker giveaways.

Despite the horrific start, Nebraska shot 38% from the field and 33% from deep in the first 20 minutes. Sandfort and Mast carried the offense, with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

---

Spartans stick around

Mast and Sandfort continued their hot start, scoring eight of Nebraska’s first 10 second-half points. Jacobsen cashed in a Sandfort steal for a fast-break layup, giving Nebraska a 44-36 lead, its largest of the day.

USC Upstate’s offense went completely cold in the second half. A four-minute Spartan scoring drought helped Nebraska build a 49-38 lead at the under-12 timeout. Out of the break, the visitors made just three of their first 14 field goal attempts, including seven straight misses.

However, Nebraska struggled to pull away. They shot 1-of-11 from 3-point land to begin the second half and 3-of-15 in the period.

Jared Garcia missed his first three shots from behind the arc, but finally knocked one down to extend Nebraska’s lead to 54-43 with six minutes to go.

Jacobsen led the way in the second half, with 11 total points on 5-of-5 shooting. He scored back-to-back layups, one on a fastbreak steal, to put the game out of reach.

The Spartans refused to go away, however, as Gregory and Skinner nailed four late 3-pointers to pull within seven points. The two guards combined for 10 made 3-pointers and 32 total points on Saturday. Nebraska escaped with a disappointing 72-63 win.

---

Never miss breaking news or another HuskerOnline article again. Click HERE to sign up for HuskerOnline’s Daily and Breaking News Newsletters