Husker basketball completes Spain trip with 82-62 win

BARCELONA, Spain. (Nebraska Athletics) – Freshman Eli Rice had 16 points to lead six players in double figures as Nebraska wrapped up its Spain trip with an 82-62 win over the Barcelona All-Stars Saturday night.

Rice hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and finished the trip averaging 16.0 ppg on nearly 50 percent shooting to help the Huskers to a 3-0 mark.

Nebraska took control of the game in the first four minutes of the second half, as Juwan Gary keyed an 18-0 spurt to turn a 32-20 halftime lead into a 30-point cushion. Gary scored nine of his 13 points in the spurt and finished the night hitting 6 of 7 shots from the floor. He also grabbed five rebounds in 13:33 of playing time, as he was on a minute restriction following offseason shoulder surgery.

NU cruised from there, leading by as much as 33 points in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter before settling for a 20-point win.  C.J Wilcher finished with 14 points while Cale Jacobsen (13), Jamarques Lawrence (10) and Ramel Lloyd Jr. (10) all finished in double figures.

Wilcher finished the trip averaging 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, as Nebraska had at least five players reach double figures in all three contests while averaging nearly 86 points per game.

The Huskers exclusively used their freshmen and sophomores in the final 10 minutes, including extended minutes for Jacobsen and fellow walk-ons Jeff Grace III and Henry Burt.

Nebraska shot 56 percent from the field, including 10-of-24 from 3-point range and dished out 25 assists on 33 baskets.  Jacobson paced the team with nine assists and also had a team-high nine caroms, as Nebraska enjoyed a 42-33 advantage on the glass.

Nebraska got It going offensively early, racing out to a 22-10 lead after 10 minutes. Wilcher scored seven of his nine first-half points in a 12-4 run to open the contest, as Nebraska went 9-13 from the field in the opening 10 minutes.

The Huskers scored the first five points of the second quarter to extend the margin to 27-10 after a Lawrence 3-pointer. The host chipped away at NU’s advantage and pulled to within nine before Rice’s 3-pointer with 1:03 left in the half pushed the lead back to double figures at the break.

The Huskers will wrap up their trip to Spain tomorrow before returning home on Monday.