Rienk Mast had 22 of his 31 points in the second half as Nebraska extended the nation’s longest active win streak to 11 games by beating Winthrop 80-73 in a nonconference game on Tuesday night in Lincoln, Neb.
Mast was 11-of-18 from the field and 7-of-10 from 3-point range. Braden Frager and Cale Jacobsen each contributed 11 points for Nebraska (7-0), which shot 42% and was 13-of-38 from long distance.
Winthrop (3-4) got 14 points from Kareem Rozier, 12 from Daylen Berry and 11 from Pharell Boyogueno. The Eagles took advantage of the absence of Nebraska forward Berke Buyuktuncel (ankle) to outrebound the Cornhuskers 48-38.
Winthrop led 36-32 at halftime but Nebraska, which was 4-of-22 from 3-point range in the first half, sank four treys early in the second half to go up 44-42 with 15:54 left.
The Cornhuskers were able to extend to a 59-51 lead on a Mast 3-pointer with 8:40 remaining, then Mast hit two more threes as part of an individual 8-0 run.
Nebraska led by 13 with 5:35 left but Winthrop stormed back, hitting five straight shots to get within 72-69 on a Rozier 3-pointer with 1:45 to go.
The Cornhuskers scored on consecutive possessions after that to secure the win.
Nebraska built a six-point edge midway through the first half but Winthrop went on an 8-0 run to lead 25-23 with 6:51 left before halftime. The lead changed four times over the next four minutes until the Eagles built a four-point edge they took into the break.
Winthrop heads home to host South Carolina State on Saturday, when Nebraska hosts South Carolina Upstate.
