Nebraska 92North Dakota 70
1 2 North Dakota 32 38 NEBRASKA 49 43 |
Behind a 30-point, eight-rebound performance from Isaac Copeland, the Nebraska men’s basketball team bounced back with a 92-70 win over North Dakota Sunday afternoon.
Copeland went 12-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, as Nebraska (3-1) shot 53 percent from the field and put four in double figures. Copeland did most of his damage in the first half, totaling 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting. It marked his second career 30-point performance and first since the 2015-16 season when he was at Georgetown.
Watson Jr. | Gill | Roby |
Glynn Watson Jr., Anton Gill and Isaiah Roby scored in double digits as well to help propel the offense to its highest output since last January. Gill finished with a career-high 16 points, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, while Watson and Roby finished with 13 and 11 markers, respectively.
Nebraska took control from the onset, using an early 11-0 run keyed by Copeland and Watson to take a nine-point lead, as the duo combined for nine Husker points in the run.
North Dakota pulled to within 11-5 after a Dale Jones 3-pointer, but Nebraska responded with a 12-2 run to push the lead back to 16 after seven straight Husker points, capped by Gill’s jumper. NU shot 61 percent in the first half and took a 17-point halftime lead.
North Dakota (2-2), which went to the NCAA Tournament last year, cut the 17-point deficit to 55-46 after a Cortez Seales basket with 14:07 left, but the Huskers ran off six straight points, extending the margin to 15, at 63-48, after a Copeland 3-pointer. From there, the Huskers led the double figures the rest of the afternoon.
North Dakota was led by Marlon Stewart who had 20 points. As a team, the Fighting Hawks shot 44.1 percent from the field. NU limited Geno Crandall, who was averaging 27.3 ppg, to just 3-of-10 shooting.
Nebraska returns to action on Thursday, as the Huskers take on UCF in the first round of the AdvoCare Invitational. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (CT) and the game will be carried on ESPN3 and the ESPN app, as well as on the Husker Sports Network.
Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.