LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Juwan Gary had 11 points, nine rebounds and five steals and Connor Essegian made 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final 38 seconds Saturday night and Nebraska held on to beat Bethune-Cookman 63-58.
Brice Williams scored 10 points for Nebraska (2-0).
David Onanina made back-to-back baskets in the paint to give Bethune-Cookman (0-2) a 12-6 lead with 14 minutes left in the first half but the Cornhusker scored 19 of the next 25 points to take a seven-point lead when Braxton Meah threw down a dunk with 2:39 to go. Ahron Ulis made a layup just before the horn to make it 29-24 at halftime.
Williams made two 3-pointer early in the second half before a 9-0 spurt gave Nebraska a 16-point lead — its biggest of the game — with 13:55 to go. The Cornhusker went scoreless over the next 4-plus minutes as Bethune-Cookman cut its deficit in half and Kalil Camara hit a 3-pointer that made it 51-48 with 6:49 left but the Wildcats, who then had 4-minute scoring drought, got no closer.
Gianni Hunt led Bethune-Cookman with 10 points and added six rebounds and four assists. Jesus Carralero Martin added nine points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
Nebraska outscored the Wildcats 21-5 at the free-throw line, when the Cornhuskers shot 81%.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
___
AP collegebasketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
