Lincoln — True freshman Jacob Lanier scored a game-high 15 points, but Saint Louis shot 50 percent in the second half to rally for a 79-74 win over Nebraska in the Huskers‘ men’s basketball exhibition opener Friday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Lanier, a 6-foot-6 guard from Little Rock, Ark., made 4 of 9 shots and highlighted his night with a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer that gave Nebraska a 39-37 halftime lead. The Huskers moved ahead 44-39 on a Cale Jacobsen basket with 18:32 left, but the Billikens responded with eight straight points, six from Amari McCottry, to take a 47-44 lead with just under 16 minutes remaining.
Saint Louis never trailed again as both teams emptied their benches in the second half. McCottry and Kellen Thames each scored 11 points for SLU, which shot 44 percent from the field and 12 of 35 from 3-point range. Jacobsen joined Lanier in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds in a team-high 25 minutes. Nebraska played 13 players, with 11 logging at least 10 minutes. Leo Curtis added nine points on 4-of-4 shooting and six rebounds for the Huskers, who shot 39 percent.
“It’s what we talked about before the game,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “Whatever the result was, we were going to learn from it just like we did the BYU game a year ago. It was all about putting different lineups out there and getting our young guys an opportunity. I thought they did some good things and obviously some things that we’re going to teach and grow from.”
Hoiberg said the disappointment was that Saint Louis out-toughed Nebraska. “They got 53 percent of their rebounds back in the first half, and that’s just way too many,” he said. “We still had a lead in the second half. I thought we got off to a solid start, and then we started turning it over, and they got loose in transition.”
Jacobsen said the game offered an early look at the pressure Nebraska will face all season. “I think we’re going to see it all year, so it was good to see it now when a game doesn’t count,” he said. “We’ll have to learn and then adjust and find ways to still get into our offense and into our flow stuff, even when we’re pressured.”
On getting tougher, Jacobsen said it starts in practice every day. “It’s just a competition thing,” he said. “We’re going to have to continue to work, to show up and just be ready to go. That’s where you get better. You get tougher. It’s just in the hard moments in practice where you’re struggling with your teammates.”
Nebraska continues exhibition play next Friday at BYU. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be carried on ESPN+ and broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network.
