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Huskers in OT
Webster | Watson Jr. | Jacobson |
----------------------------- 1 2 OT total Wisconsin 25 33 12 70 NEBRASKA 24 34 11 69 ----------------------------- |
The two teams traded baskets in overtime with Nebraska (10-14, 4-8) leading by as many as three, at 67-64 with 1:44 left. Bronson Koenig's 3-pointer off the glass tied the game with 1:27 left, but Tai Webster's two free throws with 1:17 left gave the Huskers a two-point lead. Wisconsin, which got the ball back with 42 seconds left, had one final chance and would come through, as Nigel Hayes hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining and NU clinging to a two-point lead to give the Badgers the final margin. Hayes was just 1-of-9 from long distance in Wisconsin's previous three games.
Webster led the Huskers with 19 points, his 25th-consecutive game in double figures dating to last season. Glynn Watson chipped in 15 points, while Jacobson added 10, none bigger than his game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation. It was his first 3-pointer since Dec. 3 against South Dakota, and only his second attempt in Big Ten play. Ed Morrow Jr., playing in his first game since Jan. 8 after dealing with a right foot injury, paced the Big Red with 13 rebounds, while Jordy Tshimanga added a career-high 10 boards.
Nebraska took its first lead of the game at 50-49 with just over five minutes to play in the second half on an Isaiah Roby steal and layup. Wisconsin (21-3, 10-1) clawed back to take the lead at 53-52 on a Bronson Koenig layup.
After a Glynn Watson Jr. free throw tied the game at 53, Wisconsin's Zak Showalter put the Badgers ahead 56-53 on a 3-pointer. A pair of Watson free throws brought the Huskers back to within one with just over a minute to play, but Hayes extended the lead to three on a jumper with 14 seconds to play, before Jacobson's heroics in the final second of regulation. The 6-9 sophomore was just 3 of 21 from deep coming in to Thursday's game, but found an open spot in the Wisconsin defense and buried the 3 off a pass from Watson to extend the game.
Defense was the story in the first half, as both teams were held in check offensively. The Huskers held Wisconsin to just 31 percent shooting, while Nebraska shot just 34.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
The Huskers closed the first half on a 13-4 run to cut a 10-point Badger lead to just one at 25-24 at the break. Morrow scored his first basket in over a month to cap a 7-0 run to cut the Wisconsin lead to 21-18. Morrow also scored a bucket at the buzzer off an assist from Jack McVeigh to send the Huskers into the locker room with some momentum. Webster led the Big Red with six first-half points, as seven NU players got into the scoring column.
Hayes led Wisconsin with 20 points, while Showalter added 15. NU held Wisconsin forward Ethan Happ, who entered the game averaging 17.1 points in conference play, to just eight points, but Happ grabbed 14 boards for the Badgers.
The Huskers will return to action next Tuesday, as they welcome Penn State to Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tip-off with the Nittany Lions is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on BTN. The game will also be available on the BTN2Go app and on BTN2Go.com, and the game can be heard on the Husker Sports Network. A limited number of tickets are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or by calling 800-8-BIGRED.