Nebraska basketball pulls away late to survive in win over Maryland

Nebraska basketball (24-4, 13-4) pulled away late against Maryland, escaping with a 74-61 victory in a scrappy back-and-forth outing. The Huskers started slow, but a relentless second half was enough to win consecutive games for the first time in a month.

Braden Frager led the way with 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Pryce Sandfort scored 16 points with three 3-point makes and eight rebounds. Sam Hoiberg added 12 points on perfect shooting to go along with seven rebounds and three steals.

The Huskers shot 43% from the field and 34% from deep in the win. They cashed 11 Maryland turnovers in for 14 points at the other end. All but eight of the Terrapins’ points came from their starters, whereas Nebraska got 24 points from its bench.

Here is an instant recap of the victory:

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Ugly first half from both sides

Nebraska’s offense looked completely stale out of the gate. Maryland took an early 6-0 lead as the Huskers missed their first six shots and didn’t score until 14:21. Three quick turnovers made matters worse.

Both teams came out firing from deep with five combined 3-point attempts in the first 1:30. That foreshadowed a half with 33 total shots from behind the arc.

Frager finally jump-started the Husker offense with two physical drives to the basket. He scored Nebraska’s first points from the charity stripe and followed it up with a tough layup off the top of the glass. Sandfort drilled his first 3-pointer on the next possession, giving the Huskers their first lead, 7-6, with 13:30 remaining in the half.

Frager kept the hot hand, knocking down another triple, as Maryland went quiet. The Terrapins started 2-of-12 from the field, including seven straight misses. Nebraska led 10-8 at the under-12 timeout.

Guard Darius Adams finally snapped the cold streak with a 3-pointer, but Jared Garcia answered with one of his own at the other end. Frager hit from deep again, helping extend the lead to 19-13 at the under-eight timeout.

13 of Nebraska’s first 19 points came from the bench as Sandfort and Jamarques Lawrence combined to start 1-of-8 from the field.

Maryland climbed back into the game thanks to an 8-2 run and consecutive 3-pointers. Forward Solomon Washington carried the Terrapin offense with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first half. Berke Buyuktuncel answered with a contested layup and drew a foul, but he missed the free throw. The Huskers started 3-of-7 from the line.

Sandfort scored four straight points — giving Nebraska a 27-21 lead with 3:04 on the clock — before both teams traded 3-pointers. The Huskers retained a six-point advantage, 33-27, at the break.

Nebraska’s offense left much to be desired in the first half, but Maryland shot just 35% from the field with seven turnovers. All of the Terrapins’ points came from their starters and just six came in the paint. Both teams led for 7+ minutes in a back-and-forth, choppy first half.

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Huskers roll down the stretch

The fiery 3-point shooting continued early in the second half, as both teams combined for a 3-of-4 clip in the first two minutes. Lawrence finally got on the board with a triple before Mast joined in on the fun with one of his own.

Maryland climbed back into things with a 5-0 run thanks to two questionable calls that lit a fire under the crowd at PBA. Nebraska didn’t score for three minutes but still led 39-37 at the under-16 timeout. Guard Andre Mills hit a deep 2-pointer after the break, giving Maryland its first lead since 9:24 in the first half.

Sandfort cashed in an and-one opportunity, but the Terrapins’ offense kept pouring it on. They shot 3-of-5 from deep to open the half and made 5-of-7 field goals over a three-minute stretch.

A Hoiberg steal led to an emphatic Frager jam, giving Nebraska a 45-44 lead and sending the crowd into a frenzy. However, Maryland answered with a wide-open 3-pointer and a timeout to stifle the momentum.

Nebraska didn’t score again for nearly three minutes before Mast got a layup to fall. Frager knocked down two free throws on the next possession, re-taking the lead, 49-48, with 9:51 remaining. The freshman kept things rolling with his third 3-pointer shortly after.

Mast and Frager combined for 13 points over a four-minute stretch to tie Nebraska’s largest advantage of the game (7). Sandfort followed with a monster 3-pointer to push the lead to 61-51 and force a Maryland timeout with 5:24 left.

An 11-0 run and a four-minute Maryland scoring drought gave Nebraska full control down the stretch. After its hot start from deep, the Terrapins made just one of their next eight 3-point attempts.

Sandfort hit his third triple as Nebraska finished strong to escape PBA with a 74-61 win.

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