Lincoln, NE (SportsNetwork.com) - Shavon Shields pumped in 33 points to lead
the Nebraska Cornhuskers to a 67-58 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini in a
Big Ten Conference matchup at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Terran Petteway added 16 points for the Cornhuskers (13-10, 5-6 Big Ten) while
David Rivers pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. The win was the second in
a row for Nebraska.
Rayvonte Rice paced Illinois (14-11, 3-9) with 23 points on 7-of-17 shooting
from the floor. Nnanna Egwu grabbed five of his game-high 12 boards on the
offensive end.
After falling behind by eight points just over three minutes after the opening
tap, the Cornhuskers battled back to take a narrow, 31-30, lead into the
intermission. Nebraska shot just 42.8 percent from the floor, but converted
all 10 of its free-throw attempts before the break. Illinois was limited to 40
percent efficiency from the field in the first half.
The Fighting Illini managed to sink only 33.3 percent of their field goal
tries including just 1-of-7 from 3-point range in the second half. Nebraska
extended its lead to as many as 13 despite being outrebounded, 21-13, over the
final 20 minutes of the contest.
Despite the loss, Illinois still owns a 10-4 all-time series lead versus
Nebraska. The Cornhuskers converted the Fighting Illini's 14 turnovers into 19
points.