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Lincoln - Brice Williams scored a game-high 27 points, while Connor Essegian had seven of his 13 points off the bench in a decisive second-half run, as Nebraska defeated the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, 87-67 on Monday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Williams carried the Huskers (1-0) with 19 first-half points, and Nebraska eventually built a 15-point second half lead before UTRGV came back. The Vaqueros fought back and got to within 69-65 on K.T. Raimey’s basket with 5:52 left before Essegian took over.
The 6-foot-4 guard started a 12-0 Husker spurt with seven unanswered points, as he hit a 3-pointer and then connected on two free throws on the next possession to push the lead to nine with 4:13 left. Essegian then capped a personal 7-0 spurt with a driving layup to extend the lead to double figures with 3:52 left. NU, which got six straight stops, eventually extended the margin to 81-65 after a Juwan Gary basket with 2:40 left.
The Big Red had four players in double-digits, as Rollie Worster had 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals while Andrew Morgan added 10 markers.
Nebraska held the Vaqueros to 38% shooting and forced 20 turnovers which led to 26 Husker points.
Williams got the Huskers going early, scoring the first eight points of the night in the 2:51 span and NU lead 14-6 before UTRGV came back. The Vaqueros, who hit eight 3-pointers in the first half used a 10-4 spurt to take a 22-21 lead on a Howie Fleming Jr. free throw with 8:01 left in the half.
The teams would trade the lead back and forth, and Nebraska trailed 29-28 before the Huskers took control. NU ran off ran off six straight points to take a 34-29 lead on a Gavin Griffiths basket with 3:45 left in the half. UTRGV pulled within 34-32, but Williams scored Nebraska’s final eight points of the half, as the Huskers took a 42-36 lead into the break.
NU opened the second half with a 15-8 spurt to stretch the lead to 15, at 59-44 after Worster's jumper with 14:35 remaining before UTRGV mounted a comeback.
Raimey led UTRGV (0-1) with 14 points.
The Big Red will continue the three-game homestand, as they take on Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, Nov. 9. Tip is set for 7 p.m. (CT) at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tickets are still available for the matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets.