Nebraska 70Northwestern 55
Nebraska 25 45 - 70 Northwestern 30 25 - 55
Huskers Rally Past Wildcats
Glynn Watson Jr. had 19 points to lead three Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska rallied for a 70-55 win over Northwestern Tuesday evening. Watson, in returning to his hometown, led NU attack with 19 point and added six assists and six boards, as Nebraska (11-5, 2-1 Big Ten) shot 59 percent in the second half and overcame a seven-point second-half deficit.
James Palmer Jr. added 18 points and five rebounds while Isaac Copeland added 13 points and eight rebounds, as Nebraska overcame a rough offensive half with a strong defensive performance. Nebraska held the Wildcats to 29.2 percent shooting – the lowest by a Husker conference foe in nearly three years – and blocked 14 shots. The 14 blocked shots were the most Nebraska ever blocked in a conference game.
Nebraska used an early 8-0 run to erase a deficit and build a 10-5 lead on a Duby Okeke putback, but the Wildcats came right back with a run of their own. Northwestern ran off 11 straight points, including five straight from Aaron Falzon, to build a 16-10 lead on a Jordan Ash jumper.
Nebraska chipped away at the deficit, using an 8-2 run of its own to knot the score at 18 after a Copeland dunk before taking a 21-20 lead on a Watson 3-pointer. NU eventually pushed the lead to 23-20 after a pair of Copeland free throws at the 3:54 mark, but Northwestern closed the half on a 10-2 spurt capped by 3-pointers by Falzon, who had eight of his 11 points in the first half, and Scottie Lindsey to beat the first half buzzer.
Nebraska got 11 first-half points from Watson, but shot just 28.6 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Northwestern shot 31 percent shooting in the first half, but got 14 offensive rebounds in the opening 20 minutes that led to 12 second-chance points for the Wildcats.
The Huskers fell behind 32-25 in the opening minutes of the second half, but finally got on the attack, scoring six straight points to pull within 32-31 after after a Palmer layup with just under 15 minutes remaining. Palmer scored 15 of his 18 points in the final 20 minutes.
Nebraska continued to chip away, as baskets by Tanner Borchardt and Palmer tied the game at 35-all with 14:19 remaining before the Huskers seized the momentum. The visitors used a 6-0 lead to build a 41-36 lead after a putback from Isaac Copeland with 9:37 remaining.
Nebraska clung to a 43-42 lead before Anton Gill and Isaac Copeland keyed a decisive 11-3 run for the visitors to give Nebraska some much needed breathing room. Gill’s four-point play pushed the margin back to five, at 47-42, before Copeland added five points, including a 3-point play, to give Nebraska its largest lead at the time at 54-45.
The Wildcats were within 56-49 after a Scottie Lindsey 3-pointer, but would get no closer, as the Huskers scored 14 of the final 20 points, keyed by a 3-pointer from Palmer, who scored seven of his points in the final 3:32 to keep Northwestern at bay. The Huskers went 10-of-11 from the foul line in the second half.
Dereck Pardon led Northwestern with 17 points and 15 rebounds for Northwestern (10-6, 1-2 Big Ten), which fell to 8-2 at home.
The Huskers return to action on Saturday afternoon, when they travel to No. 13 Purdue. Tipoff is set for 1:15 p.m. (CT) and the game will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and televised on BTN.
Postgame Notes
*-Nebraska improved to 11-5 on the season, its best 16-game start since the 2010-11 campaign, and extends Nebraska’s win streak to a season-high four games.
*-Nebraska snapped a four-game losing streak against the Wildcats over the previous two seasons. The win was also Nebraska’s first at Northwestern since the 2013-14 season.
*-Nebraska blocked a season-high 14 shots, which is the most the Huskers have ever blocked in a conference game. The previous high was 12 against Colorado on March 2, 2005. The Huskers’ single-game record is 15 blocked shots.
*-Nebraska held Northwestern to 29.2 percent shooting, the lowest by a Husker opponent since hold University of Mary to 28 percent during the 2016-17 season. It is the lowest total by a Husker conference opponent since Illinois shot 27.3 percent on Jan. 11, 2015.
*-Glynn Watson Jr. led Nebraska with 19 points and jumped from 42nd to 39th on NU’s career scoring list. Watson now has 895 career points.
*-The five-point halftime deficit and seven-point second-half deficits were the largest leads that Nebraska has overcome this season.
*-Nebraska shot a season-best 88.2 percent from the foul line (15-of-17). The previous high was 84.6 against UCF on Nov. 23 *-Nebraska is now 5-0 this season when holding opponents to below 40 percent shooting.
Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.
