Photo Gallery: Pictures From Purdue Basketball's 65-62 Overtime Win Over Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. — The No. 4-ranked Purdue basketball team picked up a hard-fought Big Ten road win, taking down Nebraska 65-62 in overtime on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Freshman guard Fletcher Loyer led the way with 22 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Both teams struggled from the field, as the Boilermakers shot just 39.7% compared to 31.9% by the Cornhuskers. Junior center Zach Edey has held to a season-low 11 points, but he still managed to pull down 17 rebounds and record a season-best seven blocks. He was 5-of-7 from the field and was forced into five turnovers.
"It's just one of those games where you have it at a good point, and they have a scheme and what they're going to do," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "I thought they did a really good with it, and I thought we did a really good job with it. We just didn't make open shots. And the guys that we had shooting the basketball are guys that can make more than they did, but that's life on the road."
Purdue led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but a strong effort from Nebraska eventually forced overtime. The Cornhuskers had three players in double figures, spearheaded by junior guard Keisei Tominaga's 19 points off the bench.
He shot 4-of-8 from the 3-point line, including a shot to tie the game with just eight seconds left in regulation. Seniors Derrick Walker and Emmanuel Bandoumel each put up 14 points for Nebraska.
Loyer, who finished the game just 2-of-10 from deep, had an opportunity to win the game before the buzzer, but his corner 3-pointer was off the mark. He scored four points in overtime before freshman guard Braden Smith sealed the game by making four free throws.
"Nebraska deserved to win the game just as much as we did," Painter said. "I thought they were really good."
Photo Gallery: Purdue 65, Nebraska 62 (OT)
Ethan Morton
Zach Edey
Matt Painter
Zach Edey
Fletcher Loyer
Ethan Morton
Brandon Newman
Keisei Tominaga
Braden Smith
Zach Edey
Trey Kaufman-Renn
Ethan Morton
Matt Painter
Fred Hoiberg
Zach Edey
Related Stories on Purdue Basketball
- What Matt Painter Said After Victory Over Nebraska: Purdue basketball defeated Nebraska 65-62 in overtime on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena to move to 10-0 on the season. Here's the full transcript of coach Matt Painter's postgame press conference. CLICK HERE
- Fletcher Loyer Guides Purdue to 65-62 Win Against Nebraska: Fletcher Loyer scored a career-high 22 points for Purdue, leading all scorers in a narrow Big Ten road victory. Keisei Tominaga scored 19 points off the bench for Nebraska and tied the game on a 3-pointer with eight seconds left in regulation. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.