Nebraska passed its first test away from Lincoln. The Huskers beat Providence 67-58 Saturday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Nebraska is 2-0. Providence is 1-1.
Pryce Sandfort scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, with four assists and three steals, and was named game MVP. Boden Kapke added 13, Braden Frager 12 and Cale Jacobsen 11.
How it happened
Neither team found much early. Providence led 16-12 after a Devin Vanterpool 3-pointer at the 11:23 mark of the first half. A Sandfort three started a 7-0 Nebraska run, and after Leonardo Marangon’s 3-pointer tied it 19-19, the Huskers answered with an 11-0 run, keeping the Friars scoreless for nearly four minutes. Sandfort and Kapke combined for nine points in that stretch. Kapke went 5-of-5 from the field in the first half.
Providence closed the half on a Vanterpool four-point play and two Miles Byrd free throws, and Nebraska took a 30-25 lead into the break.
The Huskers opened the second half on an 8-2 run, and a Sandfort layup made it 38-27 with 18:02 left. Providence got within 47-41 on a Ryan Mela 3-pointer. Nebraska answered with six straight, including a Jacobsen basket and a Damon Wilkinson layup off a Taj DeGourville steal of the inbounds pass, and Sandfort finished the run with a dunk to force a Providence timeout. Nebraska kept the lead in double figures until the final 30 seconds in front of a crowd of 7,654.
The numbers
- Providence shot 19 of 62 (30.6 percent) and 7 of 38 from three.
- Nebraska forced 18 turnovers and turned them into 20 points.
- Nebraska shot 22 of 49 from the field and 18 of 24 at the line.
- Marangon led Providence with 12 points. Vanterpool had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Next
Nebraska comes home to host Lindenwood on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. CT on FS1 and the Huskers Radio Network.
Featured image: Photo: Michael Barera. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nebraska_vs._Michigan_men’s_basketball_2015_01.jpg.
