A cold-shooting night proved costly as No. 9 Nebraska fell at UCLA, 72-52, late Tuesday evening.
The Huskers (25-5, 15-5 Big Ten) shot just 38.8 percent, including 5-of-24 from 3-point range in seeing their three-game win streak snapped.
Sam Hoiberg led three Huskers in double figure with 12 points, while Rienk Mast and Cale Jacobsen added 11 points apiece.
Trent Perry led UCLA (20-10, 12-7 B1G) with 20 points and seven rebounds while Eric Dailey Jr. added 14 points and eight rebounds for the winners. The Bruins shot 46 percent from the field, including 10 3-pointers to improve to 17-1 at home and pick up their third top-10 home win of the season.
In the second half, the Huskers whittled an 18-point deficit to 57-47 with 6:49 remaining after a pair of Mast free throws capped a 5-0 run before a costly possession put the Bruins back in control. On Trent Perry’s jumper, Jamarques Lawrence was called for an off-ball foul under the basket to give UCLA possession, The Bruins took advantage as Tyler Bilodeau’s 3-pointer extended the to 62-47 and UCLA was in control the rest of the evening.
UCLA took advantage of a strong start in front of a Senior Night crowd, hitting six of its first eight field goals to race out to a 14-5 lead in the first five-plus minutes of the contest. Nebraska, which shot just 31 percent in the opening 20 minutes, pulled to within 27-19 after Cale Jacobson baskets and a four-point play from Pryce Sandfort.
Nebraska trailed 29-22 after a Rienk Mast free throw with 5:41 left, but Perry had five of his team-high nine first-half points in an 8-0 run that put the Bruins up 37-22 and forced a Husker timeout. The Bruins shot 50 percent in the opening 20 minutes and capitalized on four offensive rebounds for a 9-5 advantage on second-chance points.
The Huskers return home for Senior Day on Sunday, March 8, when the Huskers host Iowa. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. with pregame ceremonies beginning around 3:45 p.m. The game will be televised on FOX and carried on the Huskers Radio Network.
Nebraska Notes
*-Nebraska falls to 25-5 on the season and sees its three-game win streak snapped. All five of Nebraska’s losses are to Quad 1 teams
*-Nebraska finishes Big Ten play with a 7-3 road record with tonight’s loss. The seven wins is a single-season school record for conference road wins.
*-UCLA improves to 5-1 all-time against Nebraska in Los Angeles and has won five straight meetings at UCLA Tonight is Nebraska’s first game at UCLA since the 1985 NIT and first regular-season meeting at UCLA since Dec. 30, 1956.
*-Nebraska’s 52 points tied its season low.
*-Cale Jacobsen tied a career-high with 11 points, as he also had 11 vs. Winthrop and USC Upstate. It is his fifth double-figure effort of the season
*-Sam Hoiberg led Nebraska with 12 points, the first time this season and second time in his career that he has paced NU in scoring.
*-Nebraska finished with five 3-points tonight, coming within two of the school record of 319 set in 2023-24. NU now has 317 3-pointers on the season.
