Huskers Work Overtime in 81-79 Win

Derrick Walker tied his career high with 22 points, as Nebraska defeated Minnesota, 81-79, in overtime Saturday afternoon.

Walker matched his personal best in points and posted his third 20-point game of the year, while dishing out a career-high seven assists and grabbing eight rebounds to help Nebraska improve to 9-7 (2-3 Big Ten).

The win was NU’s first OT win since the 2019-20 season and first win in Williams Arena since 2018. The win snapped a six-game streak of OT losses and marked NU’s first overtime road win in conference play since 2001.

Juwan Gary added a season-high 18 points and six boards, including a key putback in OT, while Sam Griesel had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, as the Huskers shot 51 percent from the field and went 16-of-21 from the foul line.

Gary gave the Huskers the lead for good in the extra session, as his putback with 55 seconds left gave NU a 76-74 lead. On the Gophers’ next possession, C.J. Wilcher picked off a Jamison Battle pass and found Griesel, whose two free throws with 21 seconds remaining gave NU a four-point lead. Battle, who led Minnesota with 20 points, missed a 3-pointer on the next possession, ending the Gophers’ last gasp.

NU out-rebounded Minnesota, 38-28, despite a 19-point, 15-rebound effort from Dawson Garcia, who fouled out in overtime for Minnesota (6-8, 0-4 Big Ten).

Nebraska trailed 45-38 with 18 minutes left but took control over the next four-plus minutes, using a 16-2 spurt that turned the seven-point deficit into a 54-47 advantage after a Griesel putback at the

12:52. His basket capped a 12-0 run for the Big Red and it would be NU’s largest lead in regulation.  

The Gophers would rally by scoring six of the next eight points to pull within 56-55 after Battle’s jumper with 9:33 left and would remain a two-possession game for the rest of regulation. Trailing 58-55, Minnesota ran off six straight points before Griesel’s 3-point tied it at 61 with 6:20 left in regulation.

Nebraska led 67-64 and had the ball with under a minute left in regulation when Waler was charged with an offensive foul with 23.6 seconds remaining. That gave the Gophers a chance to tie, and Taurus Samuels’ 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left tied it up. NU called timeout and had one final chance in regulation, but Griesel’s 3-point attempt was off the mark and the game went to overtime.

Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half as Minnesota took a 39-33 lead into the locker room. The Huskers trailed by many as seven, at 22-15, before the bench took over. Keisei Tominaga and Wilhelm Breidenbach combined for seven points as Nebraska whittled the Minnesota lead to 24-22. The Huskers then used a 9-0 run to build their largest lead of the half, at Breidenbach’s 3-pointer with 5:22 left spotted the Huskers a 31-26 lead.

Minnesota came right back behind the play of Ta’Lon Cooper and Dawson Garcia, who combined for 11 straight points as Minnesota took a 37-31 lead. Walker’s putback basket ended the run, but Battle’s putback in the final seconds of the half sent the hosts to the locker room ahead 39-33.

Dawson had 15 points and six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes for Minnesota, while Battle had 10 first-half points as Minnesota shot 50 percent from the field and 6-of-12 from 3-point range. Gary led a balanced NU attack in the opening 20 minutes with nine points while Walker had eight points, five boards and five assists in the opening 20 minutes.

Nebraska returns home Tuesday night, as the Huskers host the Illinois Fighting Illini. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and tickets are available for the matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or calling the NU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED during business hours (8a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.)

Nebraska Postgame Notes. 

• Nebraska snapped a six-game losing streak in overtime games dating back to the 2019-20 season. 
• Today marked Nebraska’s OT road win since a 87-82 win at Colorado on Feb. 17, 2001
• the win was NU’s third straight in the series against Minnesota, matching Nebraska’s longest win streak in the series. 
• Nebraska has now won four of its last six Big Ten road games dating back to last season. 
• The win was Nebraska’s first in Williams Arena since 2018.  Prior to today, the home team had won 15 of the last 16 meetings in the series. 
• Derrick Walker tied a career high with 22 points, matching his total against Creighton on Dec 4. It was his third career 20-point game, all coming in 2022-23
• Walker also fished out a career high seven assists, topping his previous best of six set on two other occasions.   
• Juwan Gary finished with a season high 18 points (previous high was 17 vs. UAPB). It was one point shy of his career high set twice last season when he played at Alabama. 
• Nebraska shot 50.8 percent from the field, the sixth time Nebraska shot at least 50 percent this season. 
• Nebraska’s 81 points is its highest total since scoring 88 against Boston College on Nov. 30
• Nebraska went 16-21 from the foul line, the sixth time in the last seven games that Nebraska shot 70 percent or better from the foul line.