LINCOLN, Neb. – In the first matchup in program history between the two teams, Nebraska (2-0) got hot from three and never wavered, downing FIU men's basketball (1-1) 96-66 on Saturday.
"We knew from film that Nebraska is a very good team. They're old, they're big, they're physical, they're extremely skilled," head coach
Jeremy Ballard said. "They're extremely well-coached, and they played well tonight. I'm disappointed that we didn't give them a better game, because we're a lot better than what we showed tonight."
Despite the final score, the Panthers did hold a brief lead twice, but were answered by scores on the other end both times.
Eric Dibami (4-3) and Hamed Olayinka (6-5) gave the Panthers slim one-point leads on lay-ins, but those were the only leads of the day for the visitors.
Three-pointers kept raining in for the Huskers, who eventually stretched the lead to 10. Although
Julian Mackey nailed a three to cut it back to seven points, that was as close as FIU got for the remainder of the half, trailing 49-28 after the break.
Dibami,
Thiago Sucatzky and Mackey all tried to provide a spark in the second half, but couldn't match up to the offensive firepower provided by Nebraska. On the strength of a Rienk Mast triple-double, the home team sailed to a 96-66 win.
Mackey (12 points, 3-4 3FG) and Olayinka (12 points, seven rebounds, 6-7 FG) led the scoring charge for the Panthers, while
Corey Stephenson (11) rounded out the scoring trio. Dibami also reached double digits for the first time in his career, scoring 10 while contributing seven rebounds and three blocks. Sucatzky also had a career-high eight points and knocked down a pair of three-balls.
UP NEXT
The Panthers are off to Baton Rouge to continue the P4 road trip with a matchup at LSU.
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