Huskers Improve to 3-1 with win over South Dakota

LINCOLN – Teddy Allen scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half, as Nebraska improved to 3-1 on the season with a 76-69 win over South Dakota on Tuesday evening.
Allen and Kobe Webster combined for 13 points in a 19-6 second-half run, turning a 48-43 lead into an 18-point cushion with 6:01 remaining. Allen’s 23 points led five Huskers in double figures, while Webster had eight of his 11 points off the bench in the second half.
Trey McGowens (13), Shamiel Stevenson (11) and Dalano Banton (10) also finished in double figures, as Nebraska shot just 40 percent, but went 21-of-30 from the foul line and out-rebounded the Coyotes, 48-38, as Lat Mayen pulled down a career-high 12 boards.
A.J. Plitzuweit finished with 24 points, including four 3-pointers, while Stanley Umude finished with 23 points and added 11 rebounds and five assists for South Dakota, which shot just 35 percent in falling to 0-3 on the season.
Allen, who played just six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, got going offensively in the opening minutes, scoring NU’s first seven points of the second half.
Leading 48-43, the Huskers seized momentum with nine straight points, including seven from Webster and Dalano Banton to stretch the lead to 57-43. A putback from Nikola Zizic ended a nearly four minute scoring drought for USD, but a Webster 3-pointer began a 9-4 spurt that extended the lead to 18 after a Allen jumper with just over six minutes remaining.
South Dakota chipped away and got within 69-59 after a Plitzuweit 3-pointer capped a 6-0 spurt with 2:57 left, but Banton’s 3-point play with 2:29 left stretched the Husker lead back out to 13.
The Huskers return to action on Sunday afternoon when they take on Florida A&M. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. and the game will be carried live on BTN.
The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens its 2020-21 season by taking on Oral Roberts on Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tip-off against the Golden Eagles (0-2) is set for 6 p.m. (CT). Due to Big Ten Conference policies and local directed health measures, no fans will be permitted inside Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Oral Roberts, which finished 2019-20 with a 15-16 overall record that included a 9-7 mark to tie for third in the Summit League, opened its 2020-21 campaign last weekend with a pair of road losses at No. 14 Arkansas and Oklahoma State.