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Rienk Mast made his return to action a memorable one, finishing with a game-high 31 points, including 7-of-8 from 3-point range, as Nebraska topped No. 8 BYU 90-89 in a Saturday afternoon exhibition game at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Mast, who had not played since the 2024 NCAA Tournament following knee surgery, hit 11-of-15 shots from the field, including his first seven 3-pointers, on the afternoon while adding five rebounds and three assists. The 6-foot-10 senior steadied the Huskers, scoring 16 straight for Nebraska, which overcame an early double-figure deficit and withstood a BYU comeback in the final minutes.
On the day, the Huskers shot 50 percent from the field, including 16-of-34 from 3-point range, had 24 assists, including nine from senior Jamarques Lawrence, and just 10 turnovers. NU also held BYU, which was picked second in the Big 12 preseason poll, to just 45 percent shooting.
In addition to Mast, Connor Essegian added 10 points, including five 3-pointers, while Pryce Sandfort added 12 in the win.
Nebraska trailed 50-46 at the break before opening the half with seven straight points to take a 53-50 lead after a Mast 3-pointer. NU opened the second half with a 17-4 spurt over the first 5:03 as Sandfort and Essegian five points apiece as the Huskers built a 63-54 advantage.
Nebraska, which never trailed again, led by as many as 13 and built a 87-76 lead with 5:09 left after Essegian’s fifth 3-pointer of the day.
BYU chipped away behind AJ Dybantsa, who led the Cougars with 30 points, as he had seven of his points in a 9-1 spurt that pulled BYU within 88-85 with 2:25 left.
A pair of Hoiberg free throws stopped the run, but BYU continued to battle, getting to within one after a pair of free throws by Khadim Mboup with 16.8 seconds left. Berke Buyuktuncel missed the front end of a 1-an-1 with 14.4 seconds to give BYU one last chance for the win.
Aleksej Kostic missed a well-guarded 3-point attempt before Jared McGregor got the rebound, but his attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
The Big Red will host another exhibition game against Midland University on Monday, Oct. 27. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT), and tickets are available by visiting Huskers.com/tickets. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, with audio coverage from the Huskers Radio network.