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Nebraska Basketball: Team effort leads Huskers to win over Nittany Lions

By Danny Jaillet

LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 10: Isaiah Roby #15 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers drives between Mike Watkins #24 of the Penn State Nittany Lions and Josh Reaves #23 at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 10, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 10: Isaiah Roby #15 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers drives between Mike Watkins #24 of the Penn State Nittany Lions and Josh Reaves #23 at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 10, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Nebraska Basketball got all they could handle Thursday night.

The game was a lot closer than it should have been but in the end, Nebraska basketball was victorious over Penn State by a 60-54 score Thursday night. James Palmer struggled, but other players picked up the slack as Nebraska improved to 12-4 on the season.

Palmer would score the first points of the game as he made a three-point shot to give the Cornhuskers the lead in the early going. However, that would be one of his few baskets as he could not get it going. Penn State hung around and to their credit,  they did a good job of keeping Nebraska on their toes. Josh Reaves and Myles Dread paced the scoring for the Nittany Lions. Nevertheless, Isaiah Roby made sure to answer back. He had several key points throughout the first half and did a good job of helping keep Nebraska in the game. Penn State played a physical game and did a nice job of coming off screens and making their shots. They managed to get Nebraska out of rhythm which is very difficult to do.

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In particular, Penn State did a nice job rebounding the basketball. They won the rebounding battle in the first half and really exposed Nebraska’s need for a solid presence in the paint. Nevertheless, Nebraska managed to control the tempo enough to have a 33-31 lead at the end of the first half.

The second half was more of the same. Glynn Watson scored the first basket for either side in the second half and he did a nice job of moving with the basketball. Nevertheless, Dread continued to make an impact. He was a thorn in the side of Nebraska basketball throughout the second half as well. Nebraska did a better job of getting their three-point shots to fall in the second half. That would turn out to be important. With the way Reaves and Dread were scoring, Nebraska needed as much separation as possible.

Perhaps one of the biggest swings of the game came with a little over two minutes left to play. Reaves hit a three-pointer to close the gap and make it a 62-61 game in favor of Nebraska, but Watson would respond. He made a three-pointer of his own at the 2:15 mark to put Nebraska up by four again.

Isaiah Roby came alive defensively as well. He had a key steal at the 1:06 mark with Nebraska still  up 65-61. The game would go back and forth once again. A free throw converted by Mike Watkins with 18 seconds left made it a 66-62 game in favor of Nebraska, and that was as close as Penn State would get. Nebraska would eke out a 70-64 victory give them their second win in conference play, and their 20th-straight home win.

Roby led all scorers for Nebraska with 22 points while Watson chipped in 19. Palmer had 11, in an uncharacteristic game for him. For Penn State, Reaves led all scorers with 20 points while Dread  had 13. Again, rebounding seems to be the problem for Nebraska. They were outrebounded by a 42-32 margin Thursday.

Nebraska’s next game will be on the road at No. 22 Indiana on Monday. Tipoff is 6:30 PM Eastern time and can be seen on Fox Sports 1.

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