Wilcher scores career-best 21; Nebraska beats Omaha 75-61

LINCOLN, Neb. -- — C.J. Wilcher made four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points to lead Nebraska to a 75-61 victory over Omaha on Thursday night.

Wilcher, a 6-foot-5 guard from Plainfield, N.J., was 8 of 12 from the field. Sam Griesel added 18 points for Nebraska (2-0). Emmanuel Bandoumel made two 3s and also had 18 points. Blaise Keita grabbed 12 rebounds and chipped in nine points.

Nebraska jumped out to a 26-9 lead midway through the first half and led 41-31 at the break. About halfway through the second, Omaha's Luke Jungers made a layup and Jaeden Marshall converted a four-point play to get the Mavericks to 55-48. Wilcher answered with a 3-pointer and capped the ensuing 15-3 surge with a pullup jumper, and the Cornhuskers led 70-53 with 3:29 remaining.

Nebraska shot 50% in each half, with five of its seven 3-pointers coming in the first.

Marshall scored 16 points for Omaha (0-2). Marquel Sutton added 14 points. The Mavericks also had balanced shooting, finishing 12 of 29 (41%) from the floor in each half, but missed 12 of its 17 3-point shots. Marshall and Jungers were a combined 5-of-10 shooting from long range.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP--Top25 C.J. Wilcher