Men’s Basketball

Dererk Pardon is quickly making a second home at Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena.

After erupting for 28 points and 12 rebounds in his first career visit last year, the sophomore center added 13 points and five rebounds Sunday and provided a much-needed post presence inside.

Pardon’s efforts allowed the Wildcats (13-4, 2-2) to recover from a late first-half meltdown and, in a refreshing reversal from their typical late-game struggles, overcome a 7-point second-half deficit in a 74-66 win over Nebraska (9-7, 3-1).

“To come in here and to play in this kind of environment, and to come back from the deficit that we had, I thought it showed a lot of toughness, and that’s something we’re trying to build in our team,” Collins said.

Four players scored in double-digits for NU, including junior guard Scottie Lindsey, who posted a game-high 19 points. Sophomore forward Vic Law added 15 and was deadly from deep, making 5-of-6 attempts from 3-point range to provide timely momentum swings in the Cats’ favor.

NU started slowly in the contest but seemed to be cruising into halftime with a comfortable lead before things suddenly went south. A buzzer-beating, pull-up 3 by guard Tai Webster, who led Nebraska with 17 points on the day, culminated a 14-0 run that electrified a sold-out crowd of 15,053 and put the hosts up 37-33 at the break.

“We knew they were getting a lot of loose balls,” Pardon said. “They were out-toughing us basically, and coach challenged us to play tougher.”

The Cats responded favorably to the challenge, and the pace of the second half mirrored the first 18 minutes of the first period. NU steadily chipped away at the Cornhuskers’ lead, eventually tying the game at 50 with 11:51 left.

Lindsey and Law then drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give the visitors a lead they never relinquished. Webster tried to jumpstart a late Nebraska run, but a Bryant McIntosh bucket and two high-pressure free throws by freshman guard Isiah Brown guaranteed NU’s multi-possession lead to the final whistle.

“I thought our poise was good down the stretch,” Collins said. “We made free throws (and) we didn’t turn the ball over.”

That’s a stark difference from the last time out: a 70-66 home loss to Minnesota in which the Cats shot just 29 percent in a second-half offensive collapse.

Not only was NU able to close out Sunday’s game more efficiently, but it was also able to use the half-court offense — often a weakness of the transition-oriented Cats — to make up for scoring only two fastbreak points.

“We got perimeter-oriented so we wanted to throw the ball (inside to Pardon),” McIntosh, a junior guard, said. “I thought he did a great job. He got two big buckets in the post for us.”

Nebraska had been one of the Big Ten’s biggest surprises, upsetting Indiana and Maryland to open Big Ten play 3-0 after an underwhelming non-conference campaign. If the Cornhuskers’ ascension continues, this victory could become a statement win for NU.

“They were the hottest team in our league,” Collins said. “For us to be able to come in here and steal one on the road was huge for our team and our program.”

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