Huskers Knockout Georgetown To Advance In The Crown
Brice Williams’ 28-point night led three Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska advanced to the College Basketball Crown Semifinals with an 81-69 win over Georgetown Wednesday night.
Nebraska will face Boise State, a 100-93 winner over Butler, in Saturday’s first semifinal. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. (Central) at T-Mobile Arena and it will be carried on FOX and the Husker Sports Network. Ticket info for Saturday’s game is available at collegebasketballcrown.com/schools/
Williams, who is averaging 29.0 ppg in the two games in Las Vegas, hit 8-of-14 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers to match a career high, as Nebraska improved to 19-17 on the season.
After Georgetown (18-16) whittled a 19-point Husker lead to 10 with just over five minutes remaining, Williams hit consecutive 3-pointers in a 31-second span to push the lead back to 76-62 with 4:18 remaining.
The Hoyas eventually whittled the lead to eight, at 77-69, with 2:43 left after a Austin Montgomery dunk but could get no closer as a basket from Andrew Morgan and two Williams’ free throws provided the final margin as Georgetown did not made a field goal in the final 2:30 of the contest.
Juwan Gary added his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Morgan provided a strong effort off the bench with 12 points and nine boards for the Huskers.
NU received contributions throughout its lineup as Nebraska’s bench enjoyed a 25-14 advantage with Connor Essegian (seven) and Ahron Ulis (six) giving NU’s bench a lift. Sophomore Cale Jacobson added seven points, six boards, four assists three steals and two blocks in his first career start, finishing a team-best +16 in a career-high 36 minutes.
Nebraska held Georgetown to 39 percent shooting and enjoyed a 40-31advantage on the glass against a short-handed Hoya lineup. The Huskers also converted 11 Hoya turnovers into 14 points.
Nebraska jumped out to an early 12-5 lead as Williams had six of his 10 first-half points in the first 3:12 of the contest. The Hoyas responded with an 8-2 run of their own to pull within 14-3 after a Jordan Burks 3-pointer at the 11:18 mark
Georgetown was within 16-15 before the Huskers ran off seven straight points in 1:36, building a 23-15 lead after Connor Essegian’s 3-pointer. Leading 23-18, two straight Essegian baskets started a 9-0 Husker run to stake Nebraska its largest lead of the half at 32-18 with 3:13 left and the Huskers took a 34-24 lead into the break,
Nebraska got the second half off to a quick start, as 3-pointers from Gary and Williams sparked an 11-2 start, as Williams scored five straight points to give NU its largest lead at 45-26 with 16:17 remaining.
The Hoyas would not go away behind the play of Malik Mack, who scored 23 of his team-high 25 points in the second half to keep Georgetown within striking distance. As a team, the Hoyas shot 50 percent from the field and 3-point line in the final 20 minutes in mounting a comeback.
Next Up - Nebraska will take on Boise State in the semi finals on Saturday, April 5th at 12:30 pm.