Huskers triumph against Buckeyes thanks to a great performance
Nebraska defeated Ohio State 83-69 on Tuesday night, led by a career-best performance by Rienk Mast.
Mast had a career-high 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.
He was dominant, making 13 of his 17 field goals, including 6 of his 8 attempts from behind the arc.
Mast, who recorded his sixth double-double of the year, outscored his previous career high of 30 points in the 2023 MVC Tournament with a career-high 34 points in the second half on 9 of 10 shooting.
Nebraska (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten) made 14 3-pointers, including four from C.J. Wilcher, who came off the bench to add 16 points and three assists.
The team shot close to 50% from the field. Brice Williams’ 14 points and seven rebounds gave NU three consecutive double-figure performances.
In the victory, Nebraska had just six turnovers and 19 assists.
After trailing by as many as nine points at one point in the first half, Nebraska had established a 10-point lead on their opening possession.
However, with 17:25 remaining, Zed Key’s jumper and an 8-1 run by the Buckeyes allowed them to close the deficit to 46-43.
Wilcher then delivered a huge moment, extending Nebraska’s lead to 52-43 with a pair of corner 3-pointers in a 1:12 period.
Before Mast took over, the Buckeyes (13-6, 3-5) closed the gap to five at 52-47.
The 6-foot-10 junior extended the margin to 12 points with a 7-0 run that included five straight points from him.
With 6:51 remaining, the Huskers had built an 18-point lead thanks to his next 10 points, which included back-to-back 3-pointers.
From that point on, NU would lead by double digits the entire evening.
Before NU settled down, Ohio State got off to a fast start, making their first four strokes of the game to take a 9-4 lead.
Following a 9-0 run that was completed with two free throws by Bruce Thornton at the 11:36 mark, OSU made eight of their first thirteen attempts and took a 22-13 lead.
At Pinnacle Bank Arena, an audience of more than 14,000 people was electrified by Nebraska’s bench, which was led by freshman Eli Rice’s putback, which allowed Wilcher to score five points in an 8-0 run and bring NU within one.
Before Mast made back-to-back 3-pointers to give NU a 32-30 lead, Nebraska was behind 30–26.
In the last 4:30 of the game, NU limited the Buckeyes to two field goals and took command of the game with a 17-5 run to end the half.
Mast scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half, and after a Williams putback in the closing seconds of the half, Nebraska led 43-35 going into the locker room.
Starting at 11 a.m. (CT) on Saturday, January 27, NU will travel to play Maryland.
The Huskers Radio Network will have the game available as well as airing on BTN.
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