C.J. Wilcher racked up 18 points off the bench as Nebraska romped past South Carolina State 91-62 on Friday night in Lincoln, Neb.
Brice Williams added 16 points, while Josiah Allick and Eli Rice both posted 10 points as Nebraska (11-2) earned its fourth consecutive win heading into the return of Big Ten Conference play.
It was a season-high point total for the Cornhuskers even though they didn’t make a field goal in the final four minutes.
The Cornhuskers dominated South Carolina State in just about every aspect for the first 20 minutes, leading 50-11 at halftime in their final nonconference game.
Jordan Simpson’s 17 points, Michael Teal’s 11 points and Raquan Brown’s 11 points were tops for the Bulldogs (4-11), who will play Sunday at Oklahoma State before starting Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action.
The Bulldogs were out of sorts from the get-go and never found a long-range shooting touch. They went 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) on 3-point attempts.
Nebraska played its second game without 6-foot-10 forward Rienk Mast, whose knee surgery will keep him out until at least sometime in January.
Wilcher shot 7-for-9 from the floor.
The final numbers weren’t all glossy for Nebraska, which yielded 13 offensive rebounds to the Bulldogs and committed 20 turnovers. South Carolina State held a 51-41 scoring edge in the second half.
Allick and Williams were both credited with seven rebounds as part of Nebraska’s 50-40 edge on the boards.
Nebraska led 12-0 before the Bulldogs scored on a Teal 3-pointer after nearly six minutes elapsed. That was followed an 11-0 Cornhuskers run for a 23-3 advantage.
South Carolina State shot 31.1 percent from the field, a mark that would have been considerably worse if not for Simpson’s 7-for-11 rate. The Bulldogs received only 16 total points from their starters.
–Field Level Media
