Sandfort’s Record-Tying Day Carries Huskers Past Penn State

Lincoln, Neb. – Behind a record-setting performance from Pryce Sandfort, No. 9 Nebraska dispatched Penn State, 87-63, at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday.

Sandfort set a career high with 33 points and tied the school record with eight 3-pointers, as Nebraska improved to 23-4 on the season and 12-4 in Big Ten play,  

Sandfort, who set NU’s single-season 3-point record on Tuesday, tied Cary Cochran’s single-game mark which had stood since 2002. On the day, the junior forward went 11-of-17 from the field ad also added nine rebounds as the Huskers raced out to an 18-point halftime lead and was in control most of the afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 15,128.

Braden Frager added 15 points and six rebounds while Sam Hoiberg posted his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 assists, as Nebraska shot 52 percent from the field, including 14-of-35 from 3-point range.

Sandfort, who had 20 first-half points, and Braden Frager got Nebraska going in the first half. Trailing 7-4, the duo combined for all 14 points in a 14-2 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Frager that staked the Huskers a 20-9 lead.

Penn State cut the Husker lead to 24-15 before a Leo Curtis basket started a 9-0 spurt that included five straight points from Sandfort and a Jamarques Lawrence lay-up to give NU a 33-18 lead. Sandfort, who hit his first five 3-pointers of the game, helped NU build a 21-point lead before going into the locker room with a 38-20 cushion.

The Nittany Lions (11-17, 2-15) made an early second-half run scoring the first five points out of the locker room to cut the lead to 38-25 on an Ivan Juric basket with 18:14 remaining before Lawrence took things into his own hands. The senior had seven points in a 9-0 Husker run that eventually became a 17-3 surge that pushed the margin to 55-27 with 14:05 left.

Penn State eventually whittled the lead to 14, at 63-49 with 6:35 left before a Frager 3-pointer started a 9-0 run over the next 1:19 capped by another Sandfort 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to 23

Juric and Kayden Mingo had 13 points apiece for the Nittany Lions, while Juric added a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Huskers return to action on Wednesday evening, as Nebraska host Maryland. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on BTN and carried on the Husker Sports Network.