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Essegian's career night powers Nebraska to a 96-79 win over South Dakota

Robin Washut profile picby:Robin Washut•11/27/24•

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Connor Essegian Nebraska basketball
Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Connor Essegian (0) shoots the ball against South Dakota Coyotes guard Paul Bruns (23) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

After struggling with 3-point shooting through its first five games, Nebraska finally took the lids off the basket on Wednesday night.

Behind 13 made threes and a career-high 29 points from Connor Essegian, the Huskers had their best offensive performance of the year in a 96-79 win over South Dakota.

Brice Williams chipped in 21 points as NU (5-1) shot 49.3% from the field and made a season-high 13-of-33 (39.4%) from behind the arc.

That hot shooting helped Nebraska lead by as many as 23 to open the second half. However, the Coyotes (5-3) didn’t go away quietly. USD went 14-for-21 at the free-throw line in the second half alone and pulled within 12 with seven minutes remaining.

The Huskers eventually got things under control down the stretch, led by eight second-half points from Meah. All 12 of Meah’s points in the win came on dunks.

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Williams, Essegian spark Nebraska’s hot start

The lid immediately came off the basket for Nebraska, as two early lob dunks by Braxton Meah got the offense going. The Huskers extended that hot start beyond the arc, hitting six of their first 11 3-pointers.

There were some cold stretches mixed in, as 10 NU turnovers led to 14 South Dakota points. That helped trim a 13-point lead to 31-25 with seven minutes left in the half.

But a personal 10-0 run by Williams and five first-half threes from Essegian quickly got Nebraska back in control. A half-court buzzer-beater from Ahron Ulis sent the Huskers into the break up 54-35, marking their highest-scoring half of the season.

Essegian scored 18 of his 29 points in the first half on 6-of-13 shooting while going 5-of-11 from behind the arc. Williams had 15 of his 21 at the half.

Nebraska returns to action on Sunday for a 3 p.m. home tip against North Florida on Big Ten Network.

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