STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Shep Garner scored 22 points, made five 3-pointers and hit a go-ahead free throw in the final seconds and Penn State hung on to beat Nebraska 56-55 on Thursday.

Brandon Taylor added 19 points and added five 3-pointers for the Nittany Lions (15-13, 6-9 Big Ten) who won their third-straight game and tied for their most conference wins under coach Patrick Chambers.

Shavon Shields scored 25 points for the Cornhuskers (14-15, 6-10) who lost their third straight and seventh in their last nine.

Penn State led by 18 with 14:16 to play but the Cornhuskers cut that lead to six twice and to two with 2:46 left.

After Taylor missed an alley-oop try with 1:06 left, Tai Webster brought Nebraska within two when he drew a foul on his way to the basket and sank one of two free throws. Penn State missed its next three shots and Michael Jacobson was fouled under the basket and made two from the foul line to tie the game 55-55 with 50 seconds left.

Garner put Penn State ahead for good when he drew a foul on a late drive and made one of two free throws. Shields missed a jumper at the buzzer to seal Penn State’s win.

Garner, Taylor and the rest of the Nittany Lions were as cold in the final minutes as they were hot earlier in the game.

Taylor powered Penn State’s offense with three 3-pointers early and Garner helped the Nittany Lions take a 28-20 first-half lead with seven unanswered points to close out the first half.

Meanwhile, Nebraska had few answers outside of Shields — who scored 14 of his points in the first half — for Penn State’s tight defense. The Cornhuskers turned the ball over six times, went nearly seven minutes without a basket midway through the first and closed out the first 20 minutes on a 4-for-13 skid.

Both Taylor and Garner picked up the second half where they left off. They opened with back-to-back 3-pointers. The Nittany Lions continued to build their lead with secondary scoring from Donovon Jack who scored all five of his points in a 36-second span that gave Penn State its 18-point lead.

But Shields brought his team within striking distance. He scored nine of his points during a 21-11 run that that cut Penn State’s lead to 55-49 with 3:55 left.

Penn State made just one basket over the final 6:55.

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers dominated at times down low late. They finished with 24 points in the paint to Penn State’s 12 and scored 15 second-chance points to Penn State’s eight.

Penn State: Taylor and Garner combined for 23 of Penn State’s 28 first-half points. Meanwhile, four other Nittany Lions shot a combined 2-for-12 over the first 20 minutes.

UP NEXT

Nebraska visits Purdue on Tuesday.

Penn State visits Michigan State on Sunday.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ohio State gutted one out against Nebraska.

The Buckeyes’ shots weren’t falling, and they let a double-digit lead evaporate in the second half. A loss to the struggling Cornhuskers would have been devastating to their NCAA Tournament hopes.

JaQuan Lyle wouldn’t let that happen, scoring all 19 of his points after halftime, including six in overtime to carry Ohio State to a 65-62 victory Saturday night.

“A month ago we probably would have shut down and they would have won the game in regulation,” Lyle said. “We didn’t do that today. We kept fighting, got to overtime and pulled the game out for a big win.”

Lyle’s layup broke a 62-62 tie with 31 seconds left, and the Huskers missed on three more chances before Ohio State secured its fourth win in a row and sixth in eight games.

Ohio State (18-10, 10-5 Big Ten) closes the regular season with three games against Top 25 opponents — home and away against Michigan State and at home against Iowa. There’s still more work to do for the Buckeyes to become a viable candidate for the NCAA Tournament, but losing to the conference’s ninth-place team would have stained their resume.

“This is a heck of a place to play and Nebraska had a lot on the line, (too),” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. “From that perspective, we’re very excited about the win even though we might not have played as well as we could. But they had a lot to do with that.”

Keita Bates-Diop had 16 points and Jae’Sean Tate and Marc Loving added 15 apiece for Ohio State, with Tate also grabbing 12 rebounds. The Buckeyes shot 38.9 percent and were just 3 of 14 on 3-pointers.

“The rim was messing with us today,” Lyle said.

Jack McVeigh led the Huskers (14-14, 6-9) with 16 points, Andrew White III had 14 and Glynn Watson Jr. added 10. Nebraska shot a season-low 27.1 percent from the field and went 9 of 35 from 3-point range.

White, just 3 for 17 for the game, made a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left in regulation to complete the Huskers’ comeback from 11 points down and put them up 56-54.

Lyle’s two free throws with nine seconds left tied it at 56, and the game went to overtime after Mickey Mitchell stole the ball from Watson at midcourt.

Both teams slogged through the first half, combining for four scores on the first 24 possessions. The Buckeyes scored just two points through the opening 9 1/2 minutes. But the Huskers were just as bad and could never capitalize on Ohio State’s horrid start.

“This is a painful loss,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “If you don’t feel this at the depth of your soul as a player or coach, you’re not a competitor. When we watch it on tape, we’re going to see our errors and we’re going to make sure we get better from this.”

—

TIP-INS

Ohio State: 21 points in first half were fewest since Buckeyes had 18 in a loss at Indiana on Jan. 10. … The Buckeyes blocked eight shots. Daniel Giddens (1.6 per game), Trevor Thompson (1.3) and Keita Bates-Diop (1.1) all rank among the top 12 in the Big Ten in blocks. … Four Buckeyes are averaging 10 or more points in Big Ten games.

Nebraska: Matched a season low for points in a first half with 22, same as Huskers had in loss at Iowa on Jan. 5. … Four-year starter and second-leading scorer Shavon Shields missed his fourth straight game as he recovers from a concussion. … Freshman Ed Morrow, who has been battling a foot problem, also sat out his fourth game in a row. … Miles was assessed a technical for arguing a foul late in the first half.

HUSTLE AWARD

Benny Parker, Nebraska’s 5-foot-9 guard, made the Huskers’ hustle play of the game when he charged into the paint after missing a 3-pointer to wrestle the ball away from Loving, who had just rebounded Jacobson’s follow-up miss. Loving fouled Parker, and Parker made both free throws to pull the Huskers with 47-45.

UP NEXT

Ohio State hosts No. 8 Michigan State on Tuesday.

Nebraska visits Penn State on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Troy Williams scored 18 points, Robert Johnson had 13 and No. 22 Indiana beat Nebraska 80-64 to pull into a tie for the Big Ten lead.

Iowa’s surprising loss at Penn State provided an opening for the Hoosiers (21-6, 11-3), and Williams made sure they took advantage of the opportunity. He went 8 for 9 from the field and also had five rebounds and three assists.

Jack McVeigh had 17 points for Nebraska (14-13, 6-8), which has lost five of seven. Andrew White III scored 15 points.

Indiana closed the first half with a 17-4 run for a 41-34 lead at the break. It started the second half on a 13-2 spurt to make it 54-36 with 15:56 left.

Nebraska never got closer than eight the rest of the night.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A cold and minor ear infection weren’t going to limit Andrew White III, not with team captain Shavon Shields on the bench continuing his recovery from a concussion and Nebraska in a rough patch of four losses in its previous five games.

White had career highs with six 3-pointers and 35 points, with 18 coming during a 39-7 run that carried the Cornhuskers to a 70-54 victory over Penn State on Saturday.

White’s big outing came three days after he had 10 in an 11-point loss at Wisconsin.

“The coaches tell me I’m the guy, that I have to lead the team now,” White said. “The coaches were on me just this morning about having to do better based on my performances in practice and the Wisconsin game. They challenged me to have a big game on both ends of the floor because they knew we were going to need a lot out of me to win this game.”

Coach Tim Miles said the pregame conversation with White was short.

“I just said, `Drew, this is why we recruited you — this game, this moment. We need you.’ ”

Miles said it was apparent that White was a “good listener.”

“He probably could have scored as many as I would have dialed up for him,” Miles said. “We really needed that. He was a real shot in the arm.”

The Huskers (14-12, 6-7 Big Ten) also played a strong defensive game, holding Penn State (12-13, 3-9) to two field goals over 17 1/2 minutes spanning the halves while pulling away. Nebraska converted Penn State’s 17 turnovers into 23 points.

Brandon Taylor had 14 points to lead the Nittany Lions.

White finished 11 of 17 from the field, including 6 of 10 on 3s. The Kansas transfer’s previous high of 30 points came Dec. 5 against Abilene Christian.

“You just knew White was going to come out like that,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. “He played terrific. Watching the Wisconsin game, you knew he wouldn’t be held down another game in a row.”

White got the Huskers off to fast starts in the first and second halves. He had 15 points in the first 9 1/2 minutes and didn’t score again until he had 12 of Nebraska’s first 14 points of the second half.

Penn State switched from man-to-man defense to a 2/3 zone in the middle of the first half, and that slowed down White and his teammates temporarily. Devin Foster’s 35-foot 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired finished a 12-2 run that put the Nittany Lions up 29-25.

Nebraska scored seven of the last nine points of the half, though. Glynn Watson Jr.’s buzzer-beating 3 sent the Huskers to the locker room with a 32-31 lead.

White said he started coming down with a cold last Monday and had not had much energy all week. He didn’t tell Miles or the assistant coaches he was under the weather.

“I didn’t want to make any excuses coming into this game,” White said. “When your leader (Shields) goes down, you can’t go down with the sniffles.”

—

TIP-INS

Nebraska: For the second straight game, the Huskers started three true freshmen in Michael Jacobson, Glynn Watson and Jack McVeigh. … Jacobson had 10 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes… Jake Hammond had nine points and five rebounds. … The crowd roared when Shields walked out with the team before the game. Shields sustained his concussion last Saturday against Rutgers.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions haven’t won consecutive games since beating Louisiana-Monroe and Drexel in December, the first two games of a three-game win streak. … PSU had won its previous two meetings with Nebraska, including a 68-65 win in the Big Ten tournament.

EARLY 20TH CENTURY UNIFORMS

Nebraska wore uniforms modeled those worn early in the 20th century to honor Wilbur Wood, who lettered from 1908-10 and was the program’s first African-American player. The uniform featured red tones and a cream stripe across the jersey with the classic `N’ logo on the chest. The Huskers also will wear the Black History Month uniforms on Wednesday at Indiana and Feb. 25 at Penn State.

UP NEXT

Penn State hosts No. 4 Iowa on Wednesday.

Nebraska visits Indiana on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Nigel Hayes scored 20 points and Vitto Brown added a career-high 18 as Wisconsin defeated Nebraska 72-61 Wednesday night for its sixth consecutive victory.

Brown hit the first of three consecutive 3-pointers for the Badgers (15-9, 7-4 Big Ten) as they took the lead for good with a 13-2 spurt midway through the first half. The junior forward made 6 of 7 field goals, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, and grabbed five rebounds.

Wisconsin shot 11-for-18 from 3-point range, its best effort of the season. Brown, Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter combined to shoot 8-for-9 on 3-pointers.

Freshman Glynn Watson Jr. scored 16 points to lead the Cornhuskers (13-12, 5-7), who were without second-leading scorer Shavon Shields. The senior guard/forward, who had made 106 consecutive starts, missed the game after suffering a head injury against Rutgers on Saturday.

Hayes missed three of his first four shots from the field as Nebraska built an early lead, but the Badgers rallied when their leading scorer settled in. He finished 7 of 14 from the field.

Brown helped pick up the slack for freshman forward Ethan Happ, who had an off night. The Big Ten’s leader in double-doubles finished with just two points and three rebounds. His only points came at the free throw line with 6:17 left in the game; it was the first time all year he had been held without a field goal.

Koenig added 12 points for Wisconsin and Showalter chipped in 10.

—

TIP-INS

Wisconsin: The Badgers wore their 1976 red throwback uniforms, leading to the odd sight of a road team wearing white at the Kohl Center. . Koenig hit a 3-pointer in his 35th consecutive game. . Wisconsin won for the 31st straight time when scoring at least 70 points.

Nebraska: Sophomore guard/forward Nick Fuller, from nearby Sun Prairie, Wis., had two points and four fouls in 17 minutes. . The Cornhuskers’ 61 points were their lowest output in a Big Ten game this season; they came in averaging 75.0 points per game in conference play.

UP NEXT

Wisconsin visits No. 2 Maryland on Saturday.

Nebraska hosts Penn State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska ended its three-game losing streak with a 87-63 win over Rutgers on Saturday, but that meant very little to the Cornhuskers after team leader Shavon Shields was injured and taken out of the arena on a stretcher in the second half.

The senior, who has started 106 consecutive games, flipped over the back of Rutgers’ D.J. Foreman, landed on his shoulder and struck his head on the court. The athletic department said in a statement late Saturday afternoon that Shields was released from a Lincoln hospital after a CT scan was negative. He will enter Nebraska’s concussion protocol.

“We are relieved and thankful Shavon has been released, and that his injuries aren’t more serious,” coach Tim Miles said. “We will follow the proper protocol to get him back to full speed. I know Shavon and his family are grateful for everyone’s thoughts and prayers.”

The Huskers led by 17 when Shields was hurt with 8:49 left, and coach Miles just wanted to get the game over. Shields was unconscious briefly but was alert and able to move his arms and legs as he left the arena.

“At that point, you’re trying to get through the game as quick as you can,” Miles said. “The game feels so unimportant, right?”

Andrew White had 21 points and eight rebounds as the Huskers (13-11, 5-6 Big Ten) beat the Scarlet Knights for the second time this season. They won 90-56 in New Jersey on Jan. 9.

Shields scored 17 points, and freshmen Mike Jacobson, Ed Morrow and Glynn Watson combined for 31 points and 15 rebounds.

Freshman Corey Sanders scored 28 to lead Rutgers (6-18, 0-11), which has lost 26 straight against Big Ten opponents and is 0-15 all-time in conference road games.

The Huskers put the game out of reach with a 24-3 run spanning the halves. Rutgers had shot 60 percent (12 of 20) through the first 12 1/2 minutes. Then the Huskers switched to a 2/3 zone defense, and the Knights had no field goals the final 7 1/2 minutes of the half.

With Nebraska in man defense, the Knights were able to penetrate and get easy baskets.

“That’s why we had to go zone, because they were going to get anything they wanted,” Miles said. “I tried to cycle everyone in and out. We didn’t get a spark from anyone until we went zone. We got confidence, we got transition.”

After going to the zone, Nebraska turned a 33-27 deficit into a 45-36 halftime lead. Before the Knights scored another field goal, it was 51-36 with 18 minutes left in the game.

The injury-depleted Knights, three days after a triple-overtime loss to Illinois, were pretty much done at that point.

“I liked the way we started the game and we did a lot of good things early,” Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan said. “Tim threw a zone at us and we got stagnant. We didn’t make fundamental plays that were in front of us. That 18-3 run (before half), that was pretty much the game.”

Shields was hurt when Foreman started to go up for a shot under the basket. Shields, approaching Foreman from behind, flipped over Foreman’s back.

Shields’ mother, Senia Shields, rushed to his side as medics tended to him. He was put on a backboard and taken from the arena to a standing ovation.

“You see him in the air and as soon as his hip hit the kid’s shoulder, or whatever it was, and his feet go way up, you know it’s not good,” Miles said. “I was just worried for him. Just scared for him. Then when I got there, I think Michael (Jacobson) had said, `He’s out, coach.’ Just seemed like he was out for a long time.”

—

TIP-INS

Rutgers: The Knights’ last road win was Dec. 28, 2014 against Monmouth. … Sanders came in leading Big Ten freshmen with a 15.4-point average. It took him less than 12 minutes to score 16. … Greg Lewis, who had a career-high 16 rebounds against Illinois on Wednesday, had five against the Huskers.

Nebraska: Freshman Glynn Watson had a season-high nine assists. … The Huskers’ scoring average of 73.8 points in Big Ten play is their highest in conference games since the 2001-02 season.

LEGENDS WEEKEND

Nebraska honored one of its best teams during the fourth annual Legends Weekend. The 1990-91 team celebrated the 25th anniversary of a season that saw the Huskers win a school-record 26 games and be ranked for 14 straight weeks, reaching as high as No. 11. The team featured NBA players in Eric Piatkowski, Rich King and Tony Farmer. The Huskers wore 1990-91 throwback jerseys against Rutgers.

UP NEXT

Rutgers hosts Ohio State next Saturday.

Nebraska visits Wisconsin on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Freshman Diamond Stone had 16 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high eight blocks, and No. 4 Maryland held off Nebraska 70-65 on Wednesday night.

Melo Trimble had 14 of his 20 points in the second half as the Terrapins overcame a slew of turnovers to remain a half-game behind conference co-leaders Indiana and Iowa.

Stone dunked off an assist from Trimble to give the Terps (20-3, 9-2 Big Ten) the lead for good, 60-58, and he dunked again after rebounding Jake Layman’s missed free throw to make it 66-61 with 2 minutes to play.

The Huskers were within three points when Trimble put the game away with two free throws with 8.2 seconds left.

Andrew White III had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Nebraska (12-11, 4-6). Shavon Shields was just 4 of 17 from the field and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Maryland committed 18 turnovers, its most in a conference game this season, but the Huskers converted them into only nine points. Nebraska was unable to overcome its season-worst 31.8-percent shooting.

The Terps blocked a season-high 13 shots.

Nebraska was within 68-65 with 35 seconds left when Shields fouled Stone, an 81 percent free-throw shooter. Stone missed his third straight free throw of the game, though, but he was able to block Shields’ layup try at the other end.

After White missed what would have been a tying 3-point attempt, Layman came up with the rebound. Trimble was fouled and shot the clinching free throws.

The Terps had lots of chances to put away the game but couldn’t against a Nebraska team that has dropped four of five Big Ten home games.

Maryland turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and mostly got away with it because of Nebraska’s poor shooting. The Huskers brought the crowd to their feet when White dunked a lob from Benny Parker to tie it 27-27. After Layman’s hook-shot air ball, Jake Hammond made a free throw to put Nebraska in front by a point, but Stone’s jumper from the free throw line gave the Terrapins a 29-28 halftime lead.

TIP-INS

Maryland: Stone has scored in double figures in 16 of the past 19 games. … The Terps lead the nation in wins (19-2) in games decided by six points or less the past two seasons. … They entered the game as the only team in Big Ten to have five players averaging 10 or more points.

Nebraska: The Huskers were assessed a bench technical early in second half after Trimble stripped the ball from Shields right in front of coach Tim Miles. … They matched their season low with six turnovers and have had 10 or fewer in five straight games. … Glynn Watson Jr. has scored 10 or more points in seven straight games.

UP NEXT

Maryland hosts No. 18 Purdue on Saturday.

Nebraska hosts Rutgers on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Lincoln – Jessica Shepard scored 20 points, Natalie Romeo added 19 and Anya Kalenta pitched in her first career double-double off the bench as Nebraska ran to an 87-69 women’s basketball win over Penn State on Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Nebraska notched its seventh win in the last eight games to improve to 16-6 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten, while Penn State slipped to 8-14 and 3-8 in the conference.

The Huskers, who trailed 17-15 after the first quarter, took control with a huge 23-10 edge in the second period to take a 38-27 lead to the locker room at the half. The Big Red continued to pull away with a 26-16 advantage in the third quarter, that included NU’s biggest lead of the game at 27 points.

Shepard notched her 13th 20-point game of the season by going 9-of-14 from the field while hitting both of her free throws. She added four points and four assists in 28 minutes of work.

Romeo continued her torrid shooting, knocking down 5-of-10 threes and both of her free throws to finish with 19 points. She added four rebounds of her own, while push her nation-leading three-point total to 78 on the season.

Kalenta, who had just six total points through the first 10 Big Ten games this season, tied her career high with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor while knocking down all four of her free throws. She added 11 boards, including six on the offensive end.

Despite the big numbers from Shepard, Romeo and Kalenta, senior point guard Rachel Theriot may have had the most dynamic night for the Big Red. Theriot posted the 10th double-digit assist game of her career by dropping 14 dimes, while adding nine points and eight rebounds. She hit 4-of-6 shots from the field, including a three, while adding two steals and one block in 30 minutes. She committed just one turnover.

With Theriot at the controls, Nebraska dished out 26 assists on 33 made baskets while shooting 50 percent (33-66) or better from the field for the 10th time this season. The Huskers knocked down 7-of-17 threes and connected on 14-of-16 free throws.

Nebraska dominated the glass against a big Penn State team, outrebounding the Lady Lions, 47-30. The Huskers also committed just eight turnovers in the game.

The Huskers got strong contributions up and down their roster. Junior center Allie Havers continued her solid play with eight points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Jasmine Cincore pitched in five points, a career-high-matching four rebounds and a career-high four assists.

Redshirt freshman Darrien Washington saw the most significant Big Ten action of her career by playing six minutes, including an appearance in the first quarter. The 6-2 Washington scored five points while grabbing a rebound and a block while hitting both of her shots from the field. Freshman Maddie Simon added four points, a rebound and an assist, as Nebraska reached 80 points on the scoreboard for the 11th time this season to complete a season series sweep of Penn State.

The Huskers held PSU to just 37.1 percent (23-62) shooting from the floor, but the Lady Lions did connect on 6-of-12 threes. They also hit 17-of-23 free throws and committed just six turnovers.

In a back-and-forth first quarter, Penn State took a 17-15 lead by scoring the final six points of the quarter after Nebraska had taken its biggest lead at 15-11. Romeo led the Huskers with five first-quarter points, while Shepard and Kalenta each added four points inside.

Khaliyah Mitchell, who entered the game averaging 9.8 points per game, had 10 in the first quarter to lead the Lady Lions. She finished the game with a team-high 16.

Nebraska answered quickly in the second quarter taking its biggest lead at 22-17 on a Theriot three with 7:10 left, but Penn State rallied to tie the score at 24. NU led 28-27 after a Lindsey Spann three with 2:51 left in the half. Spann finished the game with 14 points, including 4-of-6 three-point shooting.

The Huskers closed the half on a 10-0 run that included a pair of Romeo threes and two baskets from Shepard to take a 38-27 lead to the locker room. The Huskers hit 5-of-7 shots down the stretch to end the half to finish at 46.7 percent (14-30) from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. NU also hit all six of its first-half free throws. The Big Red won the rebounding battle, 23-16, in the half to offset a 5-2 disadvantage in first-half turnovers.

Penn State hit just 32.4 percent (11-34) of its first-half shots, including 3-of-7 threes. The Lady Lions were 2-of-3 at the free throw line.

Romeo led all first-half scorers with 13 points, while Shepard added 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Kalenta came off the bench to score six points and grab five rebounds in the first half, while Theriot contributed five points and eight assists.

Nebraska continued to surge at the start of the second half, pushing the lead to 18 points at 47-29 off a Kyndal Clark three-pointer with 6:21 left in the third quarter. Penn State scored on the next possession, but Nebraska used a 9-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 27 points (58-31) on a Kalenta jumper with 2:08 left in the quarter.

Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action on Super Bowl Sunday, when the Huskers travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana. Tip-off between Nebraska and the Hoosiers is set for 1 p.m.

— NU Athletics —

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — When A.J. Hammons plays the way he did Saturday, No. 21 Purdue has an opportunity to beat most of college basketball’s elite.

Hammons scored a career-best 32 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, had five assists and blocked four shots, leading the Boilermakers to an 89-74 victory over Nebraska.

Rapheal Davis had 17 points and six rebounds, and Isaac Haas scored 13 points for Purdue (19-4, 7-3 Big Ten). Caleb Swanigan contributed six points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Boilermakers, who improved to 5-0 against Nebraska (12-10, 4-5) in Mackey Arena.

“I just had a lot of energy at the beginning,” said Hammons, who made 14 of 17 field goal attempts and 4 of 4 free throws. “Coach said to just make sure you’re locked in, so I have been trying to get locked in all day. I made sure I kept attacking the rim, and they got early fouls, so I tried to keep going.”

Hammons and his teammates never stopped, shooting 58.9 percent from the field (33 of 56), including 7 of 12 from 3-point range (58.3 percent). Davis was 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, scoring 16 of his 17 during the final 20 minutes.

Andrew White III had 18 points, Tai Webster scored 17 and Shavon Shields added 16 for the Cornhuskers, who had no answer for 7-footers Hammons and Haas.

“They got 45 points from their two bigs and 21 on 3-pointers,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “I thought Rapheal Davis’ four 3-pointers were more of a dagger than A.J.’s dunks. We knew he would get some of those. He is a physical presence, and we don’t have that right now.”

Hammons, who had 16 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday’s win at Minnesota, surpassed his previous best of 30, notched in a loss to Indiana on Jan. 30, 2013. He scored the Boilermakers’ first eight points in the second half.

“For A.J., it’s all about posting up strong and making good decisions,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “He posted hard all day, and you can do that when you have that kind of talent. Another key was that Rapheal got into a rhythm and knocked down those four 3s.”

Purdue got a 3-pointer from Davis and a baseline jumper from Swanigan to increase its lead to 76-65 with 6:16 to play. Hammons broke his career high with a dunk with 4:28 remaining.

Davis’ 3-pointer gave Purdue a 61-51 lead with 12:34 remaining, but back-to-back baskets from Shields and Glynn Watson Jr. trimmed Nebraska’s deficit to 61-55 with 11:49 to play.

A 3-pointer by Watson with 12:52 to go capped an 8-0 Nebraska run and sliced Purdue’s lead to 58-51, prompting a Boilermaker timeout.

While Nebraska enjoyed a 22-11 advantage in points as the result of turnovers, Purdue outrebounded the Cornhuskers, 38-22. The Boilermakers have outrebounded each of their first 23 opponents.

Purdue scored the final five points in the first half — a Ryan Cline 3-pointer and a dunk at the buzzer by Hammons following an offensive rebound — for a 44-35 lead.

The Boilermakers shot 51.7 percent (15 of 29) during the first half. Nebraska shot 43.3 percent (13 of 30).

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers entered Saturday’s game having won three consecutive Big Ten road games. A Nebraska basketball team has not won four consecutive league road games since the 1975-76 season. … The Cornhuskers were playing their first game since an 81-68 loss to Michigan on Jan. 23 in Lincoln, Nebraska. … Nebraska ranks second in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 7.2 per game.

Purdue: The Boilermakers honored their “Three-Peat” Big Ten championship teams from 1994, `95 and `96, all coached by Gene Keady. … Before playing Nebraska, Purdue had won 19 of 20 home games, losing only to No. 3 Iowa on Jan. 2. … The Boilermakers lead the country in rebounding margin at plus-12.1 and outrebounded each of their first 22 opponents. … Purdue’s non-starters outscored the opposing team’s bench in 21 of the first 22 games.

SHARING THE WEALTH

Painter said Saturday was Purdue’s best passing game this season. The Boilermakers had 27 assists on their 33 field goals. P.J. Thompson had seven, Vince Edwards had six and Hammons and Swanigan each added five.

MASH UNIT

Swanigan, who missed Purdue’s 68-64 victory on Wednesday with a sprained right ankle, practiced Friday. It was decided Saturday morning that he would play. He said after the game that he is about 90 percent. The Boilermakers played without Kendall Stephens, who has missed three consecutive games after the death of a high school friend. Stephens and Painter are scheduled to meet Monday to determine when Stephens (7.2 points a game) might return.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Hosts No. 7 Maryland on Wednesday night.

Purdue: Plays at No. 7 Maryland on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A week after coming out flat on the road, Michigan got off to fast starts in the first and second halves to beat one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten.

Duncan Robinson scored 21 points and Derrick Walton Jr. had 12 rebounds to go with his 19 points, leading the Wolverines to an 81-68 win over Nebraska on Saturday.

The Wolverines (15-5, 5-2 Big Ten) squandered most of an 18-point lead in the second half in front of a spirited sellout crowd at Pinnacle Bank Arena, but they held on to end the Cornhuskers’ four-game win streak. Michigan has won all six meetings with the Huskers (12-9, 4-4) since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011.

“In a couple of our away games that we’ve lost, we’ve gotten off to very bad starts. It wears on you fighting back where you lose your confidence,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “We had early confidence. What I love is we withstood a charge at the end of the first half and a couple charges during the second half.”

The Wolverines, who fell behind 11-0 in an 82-71 loss at Iowa last Sunday, used a 16-2 run to go up 18-6 against the Huskers. But Michigan made only one field goal the last 7:46 of the half and led 33-30 at the break.

Michigan made its first nine shots after halftime and led 54-36 with 13 minutes left. But the Wolverines kept turning over the ball and couldn’t put the Huskers away. Tai Webster made two straight steals and layups to pull Nebraska within 66-64.

Robinson’s backdoor cut for a dunk put the Wolverines up six points, and they made all 10 of their free throws in the last 3 minutes.

Walton scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half. He made 4 of 6 3-pointers, 3 of 4 after half.

“I don’t think I did anything different than my usual shooting ritual,” Walton said. “Tonight I got a lot of clean looks and my teammates helped me free myself up to hit some shots. I was able to knock some shots down.”

Nebraska, coming off Wednesday’s 72-71 upset at No. 11 Michigan State, got 15 points apiece from Glynn Watson Jr. and Andrew White III.

The Huskers were able to stay in the game by converting Michigan’s seven second-half turnovers into 13 points. Beilein wasn’t surprised Nebraska was able to make up most of its 18-point deficit.

“If you’ve been watching college basketball, with the shorter shot clock and the 3-point shot, leads aren’t safe,” Beilein said. “Eighteen can get to 12 quickly, and then there’s a little spurt where you answer, and then two more 3s and it’s six. We had a couple turnovers there that were very costly as well. We fouled guys in transition. So it just happens.”

TIP-INS

Michigan: Wolverines need one win to match their total from 2014-15 … Played their sixth straight game without senior guard Chris LaVert, who has a lower left leg injury. Before injury, he was leading scorer at 17.6 points a game … Robinson entered game leading nation in 3-point shooting at 51.6 percent.

Nebraska: Entered game shooting Big Ten-best 49.3-percent in conference games … Averaging 75.9 points in Big Ten games. Last season Nebraska averaged 57.1 points in conference play and scored more than 70 in only one game … Miles, his staff and the first 500 students through the doors wore yellow shirts for the third annual (hash)AveryStrong Day and bone marrow donor drive. The event supports Avery Harriman, 8-year-old son of former assistant coach Chris Harriman, and other pediatric cancer patients. Fans ages 18 to 44 were encouraged to sign up for the bone marrow registry.

RAUCOUS CROWD

The overflow crowd of 15,745 impressed Beilein.

“Great college atmosphere in Nebraska. This is a great place to play. And we’re really appreciative of the opportunity,” he said.

A visiting reporter asked Nebraska coach Tim Miles what he thought of the crowd.

“A little weak,” he deadpanned. Miles added, “They were awesome tonight. I wish we could have given them something to cheer about instead of howl about.”

NO DISRESPECT INTENDED

Walton drew a chorus of boos when, with 10 seconds left in the game and Michigan up 10 points, he shot — and made — a 3-pointer.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to get a shot clock violation. I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful or anything,” he said. “(Coaches) told me to go once the clock was kind of winding down.”

UP NEXT:

Michigan hosts Rutgers on Wednesday.

Nebraska visits Purdue on Saturday.

— Associated Press —