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Nebraska Men's Basketball Beats Grand Valley State in Exhibition, 73-53

The final item on the agenda for Nebraska men's basketball's preseason is complete as the Huskers beat the Grand Valley State Lakers 73-53 in an exhibition game.

Kaleb Henry

Nebraska basketball center Braxton Meah (left) looks to attack against Grand Valley State.
Nebraska basketball center Braxton Meah (left) looks to attack against Grand Valley State. / Nebraska Athletics
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The final item on the agenda for Nebraska men's basketball's preseason is complete.

The Huskers beat the Grand Valley State Lakers 73-53 in a preseason exhibition Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena. GVSU is a Division II school that went 16-15 last season.

Nebraska basketball guard Connor Essegian (0) grabs the ball against Grand Valley State.
Nebraska basketball guard Connor Essegian (0) grabs the ball against Grand Valley State. / Nebraska Atheltics

Nebraska never trailed in this one, getting a dunk from Washington transfer Braxton Meah on the opening possession. It did take until the second half for the Huskers to really be in control of the game, though, as several issues kept the Lakers in the contest.

NU had trouble defending the 3-point line and anything in transition in the first half. That, coupled with an offensive effort that saw just 3-of-11 3s go down, had the home side up just 35-30 at the break.

Out of halftime, a 23-4 run put enough distance between the sides for Nebraska to feel comfortable.

Nebraska basketball guard Brice Williams (3) shoots against Grand Valley State.
Nebraska basketball guard Brice Williams (3) shoots against Grand Valley State. / Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg has said the starting lineup and rotation are likely to change.For this one, the starters were Meah, Connor Essegian, Brice Williams, Juwan Gary, and Rollie Worster. Berke Buyuktuncel was the first off the bench with Ahron Ulis not far behind. Gavin Griffiths rounded out the rotation of of guys likely to see time in games that count.

Sam Hoiberg and North Dakota State transfer Andrew Morgan were held out of the game with previous injuries.

Also seeing the floor for the exhibition were Braden Frager, Jeffrey Grace III, Justin Bolis, Nick Janowski, and Cale Jacobsen. Jacobsen was the only one of that group to see time in the first half as well.

Nebraska basketball forward Braden Frager (5) shoots against Grand Valley State.
Nebraska basketball forward Braden Frager (5) shoots against Grand Valley State. / Nebraska Athletics

The Huskers shot 50% for the game, including 6-of-22 from 3. The Lakers made just 27.6% of their shots, including 8-of-3 triples.

Griffiths led all scorers with 14 points, followed by 13 points from Williams. Buyuktuncel had a game-high 12 rebounds.

Nebraska basketball guard Gavin Griffiths (right) defends a shot from Grand Valley State.
Nebraska basketball guard Gavin Griffiths (right) defends a shot from Grand Valley State. / Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska opens the season Nov. 4 against UT Rio Grande Valley.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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