Pryce Sandfort scored a career-high 28 points and Nebraska drained 15 3-pointers to beat Oklahoma 105-99 in a battle of former Big 12 foes on Saturday afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Cornhuskers (4-0) extended the nation’s longest active win streak to eight by rallying from down 16 late in the first half. They shot 57.6 percent overall, including 15 of 27 from 3-point range, and turned it over just five times against 20 assists.
Sandfort was 10 of 18 from the field and 4 of 9 from outside while Rienk Mast went for 26 (including five 3-pointers) and Jamarques Lawrence had all of his 14 points in the second half for Nebraska, which set the record for most points in a Division I men’s basketball game inside the 12-year-old Sanford Pentagon.
Oklahoma (2-2) got 27 from Nijel Pack and 20 from Xzayvier Brown. The Sooners shot 52.4 percent and hit 14 3-pointers.
The Sooners led 51-44 at halftime, and the lead extended to a 10-point margin before Nebraska charged back. Cale Jacobsen’s 3-point play gave the Cornhuskers their first lead at 64-63 with 12:41 to go.
Five straight points by Rienk Mast helped up Nebraska’s lead to eight. The Sooners would cut it to two, only to see Jacobsen and Lawrence nail consecutive 3s to get it back to 86-78 with 6:39 remaining.
Pack nailed a 3-pointer to get Oklahoma within 89-86 but Nebraska kept making shots, scoring the next eight points. The ‘Huskers shot 64.3 percent in the second half.
A 3-point play by Tae Davis, who had 17, got the Sooners within 99-95 with 28.5 seconds to go, but Nebraska made its free throws down the stretch.
Oklahoma led 10-0 less than three minutes in before Sandfort canned back-to-back 3-pointers to get Nebraska’s offense in gear. The Cornhuskers cut the deficit to two only to see the Sooners go on an 11-0 run for a 36-23 lead with 8:18 left in the first half.
Nebraska heads to Kansas City Thursday to take on New Mexico in the Hall of Fame Classic, while Oklahoma hosts Oral Roberts on Thursday.
