Huskers Fall at Kansas State

Wilhelm Breidenbach had a career-high 13 points off the bench, while Nebraska’s second-half comeback fell short in a 71-56 loss to Kansas State Saturday night in the T-Mobile Center.

Breidenbach hit 5-of-9 shots from the field and grabbed five rebounds, as he and freshman Jamarques Lawrence keyed a strong bench effort that helped the Huskers rally after falling behind 59-40 with just under nine minutes remaining

Lawrence, who finished with nine points after scoring just four points in his first eight games, started the run with a basket, as Nebraska ran off 10 straight points to pull within 59-50 with 3:43 remaining. NU’s defense let the Huskers get back into the contest, as NU held the Wildcats without a basket for over a five-minute stretch.

The Huskers (6-6) continued to chip away, as Lawrence’s second 3-pointer of the night made it 62-56 with 1:19 remaining, but the Wildcats went 9-of-10 from the line down the stretch to hold off the Husker comeback.

Kansas State (10-1) was led by Keyontae Johnson, who finished with a game high 23 points and 11 rebounds to pace four Wildcats in double figures. The Wildcats forced 18 Husker turnovers and held NU to 32.1 percent shooting for the day.

The hosts took control in the final six minutes of the half, using a 7-0 run to turn a four-point lead into a 32-21 lead after a Johnson basket. In all, KSU outscored the Huskers 14-5 in the final six minutes of the half to build a 13-point halftime lead.

The Huskers return to action on Tuesday evening, as they take on Queens University in the first Battle in the Vault. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com and Pinnaclebankarena.com. It is the third of three games that day with Concordia/Oklahoma Wesleyan (1 p.m.) and Drake/Mississippi State (4 p.m.) Battle in the Vault tickets were not included in 2022-23 Husker season tickets.

Postgame Notes

*-Tonight’s game at Kansas State was NU’s sixth Quad 1 game of the year, including fifth on the road/neutral site.

*-Sophomore Wilhelm Breidenbach finished with 13 points topping his previous career high of 10 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 20. It is his second double-figure game of the season and his career.

*-Juwan Gary had a career-high four steals, eclipsing his previous high of three set six other times. His four steals tonight are the most by a Husker this season.  Gary also matched his career high with 11 rebounds, which he had done two other times, most recently at St. John’s on Nov. 17.

*-Freshman Jamarques Lawrence had a season-high nine points, as he entered the game with four points in eight games.