Courtesy of Husker Athletics
Lincoln – The No. 7 Nebraska men’s basketball team used an early run to take control en route to taking down Washington 76-66 on Wednesday evening.
With the win, NU moved to 19-0 (8-0 Big Ten) and extended its nation-leading win streak to 23 games dating back to last season.
Pryce Sandfort paced the Huskers with 23 points for his third-straight 20-point game and eighth of the season.
Sam Hoiberg added 14 points along with four assists and seven rebounds, while Rienk Mast (12) and Jamarques Lawrence (11) also reached double figures for NU, whose 8-0 start is the program’s best conference start since 1965-66.
As a team, NU shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 11-of-29 from 3-point range, marking the third straight game NU shot 50 percent or better.
Mast helped the Huskers take control during a back-and-forth start to the game, scoring all seven of his first-half points in a three-minute span, as Nebraska built a 19-13 lead.
Washington (19-9, 2-6 Big Ten) pulled to within 19-17 before Sandfort scored eight of his 10 first-half points in a 13-2 tun that gave the Huskers a 32-19 lead with 6:30 left.
The Huskies eventually pulled to within 36-28 with just over three minutes left, but Hoiberg closed the half on a 5-0 run to extend NU’s lead to 13, at 41-28 at the break.
Hannes Steinbach, who fished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, worked to get Washington back into the game in the second half, but three-pointers from Sandfort and Mast grew the lead to 61-44 with 10:41 to play in the contest and NU led by double-figures.
Nebraska will be back in action at Minnesota on Saturday, January 24th. Tip-off with the Golden Gophers is set for 11 a.m. (CT) with live television coverage by FS1. Live audio will be provided by the Huskers Radio Network on Huskers.com and the Huskers App.
