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Braden Frager scored 15 points off the bench and No. 10 Nebraska held off a late rally by Ohio State to win 72-69 on Monday night.
Rienk Mast added 12 points, while Jamarques Lawrence and Pryce Sandfort each had 11 as the Cornhuskers (15-0, 4-0 Big Ten) extended the best start in school history.
John Mobley Jr. led Ohio State (10-4, 2-2) with 22 points. Bruce Thornton scored 16 and Devin Royal added 14.
Playing as a top-10 team for the first time since 1966, Nebraska led by 14 in the first half. The Cornhuskers were up 38-31 at halftime, but Ohio State went ahead for the first time on a pair of Thornton free throws with 10:24 left.
It was the first of eight lead changes.
The last came on a basket by Mast with 4:39 left. He was fouled on a drive and sank the free throw to make it 60-58. That started a 9-0 run by Nebraska, but Ohio State got back within one on a Royals layup with 14 seconds left.
Lawrence hit two free throws to push Nebraska’s lead back to three, and Christoph Tilly missed a 3-point attempt for the Buckeyes in the final seconds.
Nebraska won despite shooting 28% from 3-point range (8 for 29).
The Huskers were 14 for 17 from the free throw line and had a 38-29 advantage on the boards. They also outscored Ohio State 22-0 in bench points.
Amare Bynum had nine points and nine rebounds for Ohio State, which was trying for its first win over a top-10 opponent since beating No. 4 Kentucky on Dec. 21, 2024.
Next
Ohio State plays at Oregon on Thursday.
Nebraska plays at Indiana on Saturday.
Report from the Associated Press.
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