Sandfort sets new career-high as Nebraska basketball thumps Penn State
Nebraska basketball (23-4, 12-4) dominated Penn State on Saturday, 87-64. The Huskers coasted from the jump, getting back in the win column after dropping four of their last six contests.
Pryce Sandfort enjoyed a lethal shooting performance, knocking down eight 3-pointers in the win, tying Nebraska’s single-game program record. He led all scorers with a career-high 33 points on 11-of-17 shooting.
Braden Frager got some swagger back with 15 points and six boards. Jamarques Lawrence scored nine points but went to the locker room with an injury and didn’t return.
The Huskers shot 52% from the field and 40% from deep in the win. 15 Penn State turnovers resulted in 19 points at the other end. Nebraska narrowly won the rebounding battle 36-33, but cashed 10 offensive boards in for 13 second-chance points.
Here is an instant recap of the victory:
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Huskers dominate from the jump
It was all Nebraska in the first half. Sandfort exploded for 20 points with five 3-point makes, while the Nittany Lions’ offense looked completely stagnant.
The Huskers shot 44% from deep in the first half while cashing 11 Penn State turnovers in for 12 points at the other end. Eight different Nebraska players scored, as Jared Garcia and Leo Curtis provided some solid minutes off the bench.
Braden Frager started in place of Berke Buyuktuncel, who sat out, but it didn’t impact the Husker front court much against an inferior opponent. Six offensive boards turned into seven second-chance points in the first half.
The Nittany Lions came out flat, scoring just nine points over the first 11 minutes. They shot 33% from the field and 1-of-8 from deep in the first half. Penn State found some rhythm down low, scoring 12 points in the paint, but sloppy passing hampered the offense.
Nebraska started 2-of-6 from the field and 0-of-3 from deep before Sandfort took over. He sparked the offense with three straight triples, the third coming with an and-one trip to the line.
Frager was a huge plus on the boards with three offensive rebounds before the under-16 timeout. Both sides traded baskets early, but Sandfort put the Huskers up 14-9 with 15 minutes left in the half.
After neither team scored for two minutes, Frager drilled a corner 3-pointer and hit another on the ensuing possession. Sandfort and Frager combined for a 16-2 Husker run to give Nebraska a 20-9 lead with 11:35 left in the half.
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Penn State didn’t score for over 6:30 before guard Dominick Stewart finally got a shot to fall.
Cale Jacobsen snapped Nebraska’s own four-minute drought to give the Huskers a 22-11 lead with 7:46 remaining. Curtis checked in for Mast — his first action since the Michigan game — and immediately scored a contested layup. Sandfort followed with his fourth 3-pointer, giving Nebraska its largest lead of the day, 29-15.
Lawrence capped off a 9-0 Husker run with a fastbreak layup. The Nittany Lions earned a trip to the line but Sandfort wasn’t finished. He knocked down his fifth triple, lifting the roof off of PBA.
Garcia hauled in an offensive board — his sixth rebound of the half — and put it back up to extend Nebraska’s advantage to 21, 38-17. Guard Josh Reed hit a late 3-pointer to send Nebraska into the locker room with a 38-20 lead.
Sandfort sets new career-high
Penn State came out of the break on a 5-0 run but the Huskers answered with one of their own. Lawrence scored seven quick points thanks to a 3-pointer and two driving layups. A 22-point Husker lead resulted, forcing a Nittany Lion timeout.
Frager scored four straight points as part of an 8-0 Husker run. Mast finally found a groove down low, trading back-to-back buckets with Penn State. He checked out shortly after, and Penn State took advantage.
The Nittany Lions rattled off an 11-0 run over a three-minute stretch while Mast, Lawrence and Frager were on the bench. Sandfort ended it with a tough contested layup, but Penn State got as close as 14. The Huskers’ lead shrank to 63-47 at the under-eight timeout.
Frager hit his fourth 3-pointer out of the break and Hoiberg followed with a flashy and-one layup. The Huskers pushed their lead back to 20. Sandfort drilled a corner triple off a beautiful dish from Hoiberg, returning all control to Nebraska.
The Huskers kept their foot on the gas and coasted to a 87-64 victory. Sandfort drilled his eighth triple before checking out, tying a single-game record and setting a new career-high with 33 points.
