Juwan Gary had a career-high 20 points and Nebraska scored on its first 16 possessions of the second half to beat Duquesne 89-79 on Wednesday night in a nonconference game in Lincoln, Neb.
The win gave Nebraska (6-0) the Cornhusker Classic title and also matched its best start to a season since 2008-09.
Gary, a junior forward who was suspended for the first three games of the season, had 13 points in the first 10-plus minutes of the second half as the Cornhuskers turned a two-point deficit into a 14-point lead. He was 7 of 10 from the field as one of five Nebraska players in double figures, with Keisei Tominaga scoring 23.
Duquesne (4-2) led 39-37 at the break but ran into major foul trouble early in the second half, as both Kareem Rozier and Jimmy Clark III picked up their fourth fouls in the first five minutes. Their absence enabled Nebraska to build a 51-48 lead with 15:14 left.
A Gary layup and a pair of free throws gave the Cornhuskers a 61-54 lead with 12:01 to go, the first time either team led by more than two possessions. That was part of a 13-0 run that put Nebraska up 14 with 10:22 remaining.
The lead stretched to 17 before the Dukes scored 10 in a row to get within 77-70 with 4:31 remaining. They got as close as six with 3:55 left before Nebraska scored five in a row to go back up double digits. The ‘Huskers iced the game at the line, where they were 28 of 31 overall, including 21 of 22 in the second half.
Dae Dae Grant had 24 points for Duquesne, while Rozier had 16 and Clark 15. The Dukes outrebounded Nebraska 37-29, the first team to do so this season.
Duquesne is off until Nov. 29 when it hosts UC-Irvine, while Nebraska hosts Cal State-Fullerton on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
