Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper rally Rutgers to 85-82 victory over Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Freshman Ace Bailey finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, Dylan Harper scored 21 and Rutgers rallied late to beat Nebraska 85-82 on Thursday night.
Bailey made both ends of a one-and-one opportunity at the free-throw line to give the Scarlet Knights (10-8, 3-4 Big Ten Conference) a four-point lead with 10 seconds left. He missed the front end at the foul line 11 seconds earlier with Rutgers up 81-77. Brice Williams followed Bailey’s miss at the line with a layup and he nailed a 3-pointer to get the Cornhuskers (12-5, 2-4) within a point with five seconds remaining. Dylan Grant took a pass from Bailey and nailed a jumper to wrap up the win.
Bailey made four 3-pointers on the way to his sixth double-double of the season. Harper hit 8 of 17 shots with three 3-pointers. Dylan Grant added 15 points. Zach Martini hit three 3-pointers and scored 11.
Williams scored 21 to lead Nebraska. Juwan Gary totaled 20 points and seven rebounds. Reserves Connor Essegian and Andrew Morgan scored 12 and 11, respectively. Rollie Worster pitched in with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Bailey had 11 points and Grant scored nine to help Rutgers take a 40-37 lead at halftime.
Braxton Meah and Gary both scored four in an 8-0 run to begin the second half and Nebraska moved in front by five. Bailey had 3-pointers at both ends of a late 10-4 spurt and the Scarlet Knights took a 77-76 lead with 3:38 to go. Harper followed with back-to-back layups and Rutgers never trailed again.
Nebraska travels to play Maryland on Sunday. Rutgers travels to play Penn State on Monday.
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