Purdue 65, Nebraska 56: Terone Johnson scored 18 points as the visiting Boilermakers took a big lead and held off a second-half rally by the Cornhuskers.
A.J. Hammons recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and six blocks for Purdue (9-8, 3-2 Big Ten), which has won five of its last seven. D.J. Byrd added 12 points – all on 3-pointers – and Ronnie Johnson had 10 for the Boilermakers, who earned their first road victory in conference play.
Shavon Shields led the way for Nebraska (9-9, 0-5) with a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds. Leading scorer Dylan Talley did not score in the first half and finished with just six points on 3-of-11 shooting from the field for the Cornhuskers.
Purdue received baskets from five different players to score 13 of the first 15 points in the second half to take a 20-point lead. Nebraska responded by cutting its deficit to 51-46 with 6:02 remaining, but Byrd drained 3-pointers on the next two possessions to give the Boilermakers all the cushion they needed.
Hammons scored eight points and Purdue put together runs of 8-0 and 8-1 to build a 28-19 halftime lead. The Boilermakers held Nebraska to 25.8 percent shooting from the field over the opening 20 minutes.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Byrd is 15-of-34 from 3-point range in Big Ten games this season. … Nebraska’s third-leading scorer and leading rebounder Brandon Ubel missed his second straight game with an elbow injury. … Purdue made its first trip to Lincoln since 1978 and leads the series 9-2, with five straight wins.
Purdue | Nebraska | |
Terone Johnson 18 | Scoring | Shavon Shields 18 |
Ronnie Johnson 6 | Assists | Dylan Talley 3 |
A.J. Hammons 8 | Rebounds | Shavon Shields 8 |
Ronnie Johnson 4 | Free Throws Made | Shavon Shields 4 |
D.J. Byrd 1 | Steals | Dylan Talley 4 |
A.J. Hammons 6 | Blocks | Andre Almeida 1 |