Kenny Larabee, NRG Media
Nebraska men’s basketball opened its season by lighting up LeMoyne for 14 3-pointers in a 106-64 victory Monday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. All-America candidate and Naismith Award watch list member Pryce Sandfort led the Cornhuskers (1-0) with 20 points, one of five double-digit scorers for Nebraska.
Cale Jacobsen added 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting, including two 3-pointers. Connor Essegian, back after missing all last year with an injury, tallied 13 points and knocked down three 3’s. Jacob Lanier and Damon Wilkinson both scored 11 points in their Husker debuts. Trevan Leonhardt notched a team-leading seven assists to go with seven points in his first game as NU’s starter at point guard. Trevor Roe led the Dolphins (0-1) with 20 points on 5-for-11 shooting from behind the arc. Jayden Teat added 14.
Nebraska converted 17 LU turnovers into 20 points, while only committing eight turnovers. The Huskers, who had struggled shooting in the exhibition season, drained 47 percent of their shots from behind the arc, hitting 14-of-30 attempts. Nebraska also outrebounded LeMoyne, 40-29, and outscored them in the paint, 40-22.
The Huskers started the game on a 7-0 run, but a later 7-0 run by the Dolphins gave them a short lived 12-10 lead with 15:49 to go until halftime. The Dolphins tied the game at 17 with 12:43 to go in the first half, but a 12-0 run by Nebraska opened a 29-17 lead with 8:42 to go until halftime. LeMoyne never again was closer than nine points, and an 11-0 Huskers run to close the half sent NU to the locker room at intermission leading, 58-32. The Dolphins were never closer than 24 points in the second half, and Nebraska held them without a field goal for the final 5 minutes, 56 seconds of the game.
The Huskers will now head to Uncasville, Ct., where they’ll take on Providence on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 5 p.m. on KLIN.