Story by NU Athletic Communications
Rienk Mast and Jamarques Lawrence had 14 points apiece, but a hot shooting night by Ohio State’s Jamison Battle lifted Ohio State to a 78-69 win over Nebraska Thursday night.
Mast posted his sixth double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Lawrence finished with 14 points and five assists, as the Huskers (20-9, 10-8, Big Ten) saw their four-game win streak snapped.
Battle had a game-high 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line to lead a trio of Buckeyes in double figures. Roddy Gayle Jr. added 16 points and 10 boards while Devin Royal had 13 points off the bench. The 32-point effort was the most against the Huskers this season.
Ohio State (17-12, 7-11 Big Ten) got to the foul line, converting 24 of 28 from the charity stripe, while Nebraska got to the line just eight times on Thursday.
In the first half, the Huskers led for most of the half before a late Buckeye surge gave Ohio State a 39-37 halftime lead. Battle had 17 first-half points, including six straight in a 12-1 spurt that put OSU up 39-35 late in the half. OSU shot just 41 percent in the half but went 11-of-12 at the line in the opening 20 minutes.
Ohio State relied on the shooting of Battle, who had Ohio State’s first 11 points as the Buckeyes built a 13-6 lead with 15:31 left in the half. Nebraska came right back, as C.J. Wilcher came off the bench to spark a 15-2 Husker run with five points before Juwan Gary’s steal and basket gave the Huskers a 21-15 lead.
Nebraska, which shot 43 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, led 27-24 before baskets from Rienk and Keisei Tominaga made it a seven-point lead at 31-24. Tominaga, who had nine first-half points, hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 34-27 with 5:07 left in the half, but OSU closed the half on a surge.
Nebraska trailed 48-39 with just under 15 minutes remaining before Lawrence led the comeback. The sophomore had all 11 of his second-half points in a 14-7 run that pulled Nebraska within 55-53 after a Wilcher 3-pointer with 11:13 left. Battle answered back with a 3-pointer and a jumper on the next possession to stretch the lead back to 60-53 with just over 10 minutes left but the Huskers kept clawing back. Mast had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers before Gary’s dunk with 4:49 left made it 67-65. NU was within 69-67 after Gary’s two free throws with 3:58 left, but would get no closer, as the Buckeyes used a 9-0 run to earn its third win in the last four contes.
The Huskers return home on Sunday, March 3, as they host Rutgers. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. with Senior Night festivities set for 5 p.m. Sunday’s game is sold out and will be carried on BTN and the Huskers Radio Network.
Notes*-Nebraska hit 10 3-pointers tonight, and now has 274 3-pointers on the season. That broke the school record of 270 set in 2018-19. NU falls to 10-5 when hitting at least 10 3-pointers*-Jamarques Lawrence has now reached double figures in each of the last three games and four of the past six games since moving to the bench. Lawrence also paced NU with five assists.*-With Lawrence reaching double figures, NU has now had at least one double-figure effort n 24 of 29 contests.*-Rienk Mast finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for his team-high sixth double-double of the season. It was the 11th double-double by a Husker this season.*-Ohio State snapped a three-game losing streak to Nebraska dating back to 2022