The Sports Xchange
Dec 22, 2017
James Palmer Jr. scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures as Nebraska defeated Delaware State 85-68 on Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.
Thomas Allen scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half as the Cornhuskers won for the second straight time at home since losing to No. 13 Kansas 73-72 at Pinnacle on Dec. 16.
Anton Gill finished with 14 and Isaac Copeland chipped in with 11 points.
Kavon Waller scored 16 points to lead the Hornets (2-12), who lost for the eighth straight time. Their only wins have come against Division III Cairn and Division II Georgian Court.
The Cornhuskers (9-5) came out a bit flat for the first four minutes as the game was tied at 6-all until Copeland's jumper and free throw put Nebraska ahead for good at the 16:05 mark.
The Hornets went scoreless for four-plus minutes and the Cornhuskers put the pedal to the metal to open a 20-6 lead.
Pinky Wiley's jumper stopped the bleeding for the moment and made the score 20-8. Nebraska went on an 8-1 run with four players scoring to open up a 19-point lead with 9:09 to go in the half.
Gill assisted on an Isaiah Roby dunk, and on the next Hornets' possession, Roby blocked Marquis Collins' jumper, which led to a 3-pointer by Gill with Roby getting the assist this time.
The Cornhuskers kept up the pressure and took a 42-26 lead into halftime as Allen connected on a 3 at the end of the half.
Once Nebraska's offense kicked into gear, there was nothing Delaware State could do to stop the Cornhuskers. In the first half, Nebraska connected on 60 percent of its shots (15-for-25), including 7 of 12 from beyond the arc.
After trailing by 21 with 14:15 to go, the Hornets went on an 11-1 run to slice the deficit to 11 at 59-48 with 10:36 left to play.
Nebraska answered with 11-2 run of its own to put the game out of reach.
Delaware State's leading scorer, Kobe Gantz (11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists), missed his eighth straight game.