After a disappointing loss to Kansas State, Nebraska picked up a much-needed win Tuesday against Queens University of Charlotte.
Nebraska jumped on the Royals early, going on a 13-3 run to start. Five different Huskers scored on the run.
After the Huskers’ rapid start, the Royals cut the lead to four after two straight threes. But Nebraska’s dominant post play from big men Derrick Walker and Wilhelm Breidenbach allowed the Big Red to regain a 10-point lead with 10:37 left in the first half.
The Royals and Nebraska traded 5-0 runs, making it a 24-14 NU lead with seven minutes to go.
The Big Red then took full command of the first half. Nebraska finished the half outscoring the Royals 19-12. Nebraska’s strong close was led by Sam Griesel and Keisei Tominaga, who both knocked down a 3 and combined for 12 points. Griesel had a great first half, scoring nine points on perfect shooting, totaling three rebounds and two assists.
Derrick Walker imposed his will in the paint. He finished the first half with 10 points, four rebounds, one block and two steals. He also shot 5-of-6 from the field.
Nebraska ended the first half up 43-26.
Queens found success on offense to start the second half. Their quick passes and ball fakes allowed them to find easier scoring opportunities helping them cut the Husker lead to 12 points with 16 minutes to go.
The Huskers struggled with their rhythm to start the second half. The Big Red shot a fiery 7-of-11 in the first nine minutes of the half but also turned the ball six times. Nebraska had opportunities to put the Royals away early, but careless mistakes and fouls allowed Queens to stick around.
Despite the inconsistency, Nebraska held a 60-48 lead with 11 minutes left.
The Royals continued to stick around. They shot well from the field and hit 10-of-13 free throws. The Royals moved the ball well and played aggressively but could not cut the deficit to single digits. The Huskers slowed the pace on the offensive end and limited their turnovers but did not shoot well enough to put the game out of reach come crunch time.
With three minutes to go, NU held a 73-63 lead.
Both teams went cold from the field to end the game. Down the stretch, the Royals hit one of their last seven shots from the field. The Huskers couldn’t take the lid off the basket as they did not make a field goal in the final five minutes of the contest.
Despite the offensive struggles to end the game, the Huskers picked up a 75-65 victory to wrap up the nonconference portion of their schedule.
It was a team effort from the Huskers, with five players scoring in double digits.
Sam Griesel led all players with 16 points and shot an efficient 66 percent from the field. Keisei Tominaga picked up 15 points, going 3-of-7 from 3. Derrick Walker was limited as a scorer in the second half but made a massive impact as a distributor, totaling four second-half assists. Walker finished with 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks.
The Huskers snapped a three-game losing streak and moved to 7-6 on the year. They host Iowa next on Dec. 29.