Nebraska comes from behind to top North Dakota

C.J. Wilcher came off the bench to score 16 points and Juwan Gary had his second consecutive double-double as Nebraska overcame a 14-point, second-half deficit to beat North Dakota 83-75 in a nonconference game on Wednesday in Lincoln, Neb.

The Cornhuskers (10-2) trailed 46-32 with 19:16 left but outscored North Dakota 51-29 the rest of the way to avoid a second straight loss to the Fighting Hawks, who won in Lincoln in 2019.

Wilcher was 6 of 10 from the field and made 4 of 6 3-point attempts for Nebraska, which finished 11 of 32 (34.4 percent) from deep. Gary had 12 points and 12 rebounds, including four of the Cornhuskers' 13 offensive boards. He logged 11 offensive rebounds in a 13-point, 18-rebound performance Sunday in Nebraska's win at Kansas State.

Jamarques Lawrence and Keisei Tominaga added 14 points apiece, Brice Williams put up 12 and Josiah Allick had 10 for Nebraska, which was without Rienk Mast, the team's leading rebounder. Mast underwent knee surgery Monday and is out indefinitely.

North Dakota (8-5) got 22 points from Tyree Ihenacho and 21 from B.J. Omot, with the duo combining to go 15 of 33 from the field and 7 of 14 from long distance. The rest of the Fighting Hawks were 11 of 34 and 4 of 18, respectively.

After leading 42-32 at the half, North Dakota extended the edge to 14 in the first minute only to see Nebraska run off 12 in a row. A 9-0 Cornhuskers run gave the hosts a 57-51 lead with 10:40 left.

The Fighting Hawks went more than four minutes without a field goal before Tsotne Tsartsidze hit a 3-pointer to get them within 62-56 with 8:40 remaining. They had a chance to tie it with 4:33 left when Omot was fouled on a layup, but he missed the free throw and Nebraska scored six in a row to extend to a 74-67 edge with 2:34 to go.

North Dakota opens Summit League play on Dec. 29 at home against St. Thomas. Nebraska hosts South Carolina State on Dec. 29 to wrap up its nonconference slate.