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Nebraska Men's Basketball Drops Tough Battle to Saint Mary's, 77-74

Nebrasketball had a shot at the buzzer to tie the game but the attempt missed the mark.

Kaleb Henry

Nebraska men's basketball guard Brice Williams (3) handles the ball against Saint Mary's at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Nebraska men's basketball guard Brice Williams (3) handles the ball against Saint Mary's at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. / Nebraska Athletics
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A tough battle ends with the first loss of the season for Nebraska men's basketball

Nebraska (3-1) fell to Saint Mary's (4-0), 77-74, Sunday afternoon at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The Huskers had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer but the shot from Brice Williams missed the mark.

The Gaels built a double-digit lead quickly, going up 23-9 before the Huskers began to fight back. SMC's lead was just three points at halftime

Nebraska men's basketball players huddle during their game against Saint Mary's at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
Nebraska men's basketball players huddle during their game against Saint Mary's at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. / Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska opened the second half on a 9-2 run. But Saint Mary's answered with a 24-9 run to lead by double digits with 4:13 to play.

NU made just two baskets over the final four minutes, but utilzed the free throw line to the tune of seven makes to close the gap. With five seconds left and trailing by three, Nebraska inbounded the ball to Williams who dribbled up the right side of the floor to the wing and fired a shot at the buzzer. The last-ditch effort failed, giving the Big Red their first loss of the season.

Nebraska shot 44.9% for the game, including 5-of-17 from 3. Saint Mary's made 42.6% of their shots, but tallied 11-of-23 3s.

At the free throw line, NU made 25-of-29 while SMC went 14-of-25.

After handling the ball well the last time out, Nebraska struggled in this one. The Huskers had 15 turnovers to just eight assists. That's nearly the opposite of the Gaels, who had nine turnovers and 14 assists.

Williams poured in a game-high 28 points. Berke Buyuktuncel added 15 points. Rollie Worster and Andrew Morgan both chipped in 10 points.

Nebraska heads to Creighton on Friday. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CST with the game to be broadcast on FS1.

MORE: After Nebrasketball: Nebraska Loses First Game Of The Season To Saint Mary's

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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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