Hot-Shooting Spartans Rally Past Huskers

Keisei Tominaga totaled a team-high 20 points to lead four Huskers in double figures, but Michigan State erupted for 12 3-pointers in the second half to erase a 14-point deficit in a 80-67 win.

Tominaga hit 7-of-10 shots, including four 3-pointers, en route to his eighth 20-point game of the season, while freshman Jamarques Lawrence added a career-high 15 points in a losing effort.

Seniors Derrick Walker (13) and Sam Griesel (12) also finished in double figures, as Nebraska shot 51 percent from the field, but could not withstand Michigan State’s sharp-shooting in the second half

Nebraska built a 14-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but Michigan State (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten) opened the second stanza by hitting its first five 3-pointers to trim the lead to 48-45 after Malik Hall’s 3-pointer with

just under 15 minutes remaining.

Nebraska would run off seven straight points to take a 55-45 lead after Tominaga’s fourth 3-pointer of the game with 14:01 left, but MSU would take control from there. The Spartans used a 15-1 run to regain the lead at 60-56 after consecutive 3-pointers from Tyson Walker and Joey Hauser

Hauser led MSU with 20 points, including 6-of-11 from long distance, while Walker added 19 for the Spartans. A.J. Hoggard finished with a double-double with 10 points and 14 assists, as MSU shot 68 percent in the second half, including 12-of-17 from 3-point range.

Nebraska got to within 63-60 after Derrick Walker’s basket with 5:23 left, but MSU used a 12-1 spurt to put the game out of reach, as Tyson Walker scored seven straight points to push the lead to 14, at 75-61.

The first half was all Nebraska, as the Huskers shot 58 percent in the opening 20 minutes to build a 38-26 halftime lead.

Lawrence and Tominaga keyed a big first half run, as Nebraska used a 17-2 spurt to break open a 10-all tie and build a 27-12 lead after five straight points from Tominaga. NU led by double figures the final 8:29 of the half and led by as much as 15 before taking a 12-point lead into the locker room.

MSU struggled from the field in the opening 20 minutes, connecting on just 28 percent from the field, including 4-of-12 from 3-point range.

The Huskers close out the regular season Sunday afternoon as the Huskers travel to Iowa. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on BTN and carried on the Huskers Radio Network