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Rienk Mast posted a double-double and Nebraska led for all but 18 seconds in an 81-54 home win over Florida A&M in nonconference play Thursday night in Lincoln, Neb.

Mast, a 6-foot-10 junior from The Netherlands who transferred from Bradley in the offseason, had 20 points and 16 rebounds, including five offensive boards, as the Cornhuskers (2-0) had a 55-35 rebounding edge, including 16 offensive rebounds.

Freshman Eli Rice had 16 points off the bench and Brice Williams added 15 as Nebraska won back-to-back games by 25 or more points to start a season for the first time since 2018-19. The Cornhuskers did not shoot well, only 41.1 percent, after shooting 48.2 percent in their season-opening win over Lindenwood, but it didn’t impact the outcome.

Nebraska led 41-25 at halftime and put the game away early in the second half with a 10-2 run. The last eight of those points came from the free-throw line, where the Cornhuskers made 25 of 36 attempts after missing 10 of 29 foul shots against Lindenwood.

Florida A&M trailed by one early before Nebraska went on a 12-0 run that began with back-to-back Mast 3-pointers. Mast’s jumper with 2:39 left in the first half upped the advantage to 38-18.

The Rattlers (0-2) were led by freshman Kjei Parker, who had a team-high 13 points but was just 5 of 20 from the field. A&M shot 30.3 percent, making only 4 of 20 3-pointers.

Florida A&M continues its tough season-opening road trip with a visit Tuesday to Florida, while Nebraska hosts Rider on Monday. A victory would give the Huskers their first 3-0 start since 2018-19.

–Field Level Media