LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Juwan Gary had 11 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five steals as Nebraska improved to 2-0 with a 63-58 win over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday night.

Gary scored a Nebraska (2-0) effort that allowed the Huskers to hold Bethune-Cookman to 35.5 percent shooting and force 22 Wildcat turnovers, as the Huskers won their 14th straight home game since last season.

Nebraska, which shot 34.5 percent, built a 16-point lead in the second half, but Bethune-Cookman (0-2) continued to fight, and the Huskers eventually overpowered the Wildcats in making 6 of 6 from the line in the last. minute.

Leading 29-24 at the break, Brice Williams got six of his 10 points in the first 1:42 of the half, as the senior scored three straight points to give NU a 35-26 advantage. A few minutes later, NU used a 9-0 spurt to build its largest lead of the game at 46-30 with 13:55 left.

Bethune-Cookman pulled through, using an 8-0 run to cut the deficit in half to 46-38 before Connor Essegian‘s layup ended the Wildcat’s run. Nebraska led 51-41 after Braxton Meah‘s 3-point play with 8:20 left in regulation, but couldn’t extend it further, allowing the visitors to trail.

Leading 57-50 with 1:47 left, the visitors continued to fight and came back three times in the final minute, the last time at 61-58 after a Gianni Hunt basket with 18 seconds left, but Brice Williams was fouled and made both free throws to make it a five-point game, as NU held on.

In the first half, Nebraska used a strong defensive effort to overcome poor shooting, as the Huskers took a 29-24 lead into the locker room. Nebraska held Bethune-Cookman to 35.7 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers in the first half to overcome 26 percent shooting from the field.

Nebraska trailed 12-6 after a David Onanina basket at 14:18, but the Huskers responded with an 11-2 run to take a 17-14 lead after two free throws from Berke Büyüktuncelwho finished with six points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

The Huskers never trailed again the rest of the half, but Bethune-Cookman stayed in the game by hitting four 3-pointers, the last making it 27-24 with 35 seconds left in half-time. Ahron Ulis sent the hosts to the locker room with a five-point lead, as he had a driving layup with just over two seconds left to give NU a 29-24 advantage.

The Big Red will conclude the three-game homestand by taking on FDU on Wednesday, November 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT) at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tickets are still available for the game by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets.

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