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Nebraska

Brice Williams sinks three-point buzzer-beater to force overtime vs. Iowa

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•01/07/25•

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Brice Williams Nebraska basketball
Nebraska guard Brice Williams drives to the basket during the win over Hawaii. (Photo: Nebraska Athletics)

Just when Nebraska needed it most, Brice Williams came through. The Cornhuskers star drilled a buzzer-beating three-point shot to force overtime Tuesday night vs. Iowa.

Williams took the inbound and went right at Josh Dix, who was playing tight defense. It appeared the Hawkeyes guard was trying to foul and send Williams to the free throw line, but play continued. That’s when Williams’ shot fell.

That shot sent Nebraska and Iowa to overtime, tied at 76-76. As if regulation wasn’t enough as the two teams battled it out, five more minutes would decide the game.

Nebraska took a 34-31 lead into halftime and held Payton Sandfort scoreless through the first 20 minutes, and the Huskers led by as many as 15 points in the second half. However, Sandfort broke out in a big way to help spark the comeback, scoring 27 points out of the break to eventually put the Hawkeyes out in front 74-70 in the final minutes of the second half.

But Nebraska didn’t back down, fouling Iowa to stay in the game and eventually force overtime on Williams’ shot. However, the extra period was all Hawkeyes.

Iowa outscored Nebraska 16-9 in overtime to pull away and seal the 97-87 victory. That improved the Hawkeyes to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten play, while the Cornhuskers fell to 12-3 overall and 2-2 in league action.

Dix had a huge night to lead Iowa in scoring. He dropped 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including a 7-for-10 effort from three-point distance. Despite his quiet first half, Sandfort was close behind with 30 points – all of which came in the second half and overtime.

On the Nebraska side, Brice Williams had another impressive showing. He led the Cornhuskers with 28 points while Rollie Worster added 14 and Juwan Gary had 13. As a team, Nebraska shot 46.5% from the floor, including 9-for-23 from three-point land.

But Iowa was also impressive from the floor. The Hawkeyes made 47.5% of their shots – including 17 of 35 from downtown – while also getting the job done at the free throw line, going 22-for-25 from the charity stripe.

Next up, Nebraska will take on Purdue in a Sunday matinee. As for Iowa, the Hawkeyes will stay at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as Indiana comes to town on Saturday.