Brice Williams scored a game-high 25 points and Nebraska won the Diamond Head Classic with a 78-66 decision over Oregon State on Wednesday night in Honolulu.
Berke Buyuktuncel added a career-high 16 points while Juwan Gary chipped in 14 as the Cornhuskers (10-2) earned their first in-season tournament title in 24 years. They connected on 53.2 percent of their field goals, led by Williams, who hit 9 of 13.
Nate Kingz paced the Beavers (10-3) with 19 points, and Damarco Minor added 16 despite missing some time down the stretch when he drew his fourth foul with 5:32 left. But Oregon State sank just 39.6 percent of its shots from the field while being outrebounded 31-24.
Williams, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, scored 15 second-half points. He produced a three-point play with 3:37 left for a 67-60 advantage, then sealed the outcome when he drove for a layup with 48.0 seconds remaining that made it 74-66.
The final margin was the largest of a game that featured seven ties and 10 lead changes. Ultimately, the difference was that Nebraska carved out a 32-20 advantage on points in the paint.
The main storyline before tipoff was which team would end a lengthy drought when it came to winning in-season tournaments. Nebraska last captured one in 2000, while Oregon State hadn’t done it since 1989, when its star was Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton.
Neither team led by more than six points in a first half where they took turns playing from in front. The Beavers used consecutive 3-pointers from Liutauras Lelevicius and Josiah Lake II to grab a 17-13 edge at the 9:39 mark.
They still led by four before the Cornhuskers rattled off eight in a row to earn a 26-22 advantage on a 3-pointer by Connor Essegian with 6:11 remaining until the break. Oregon State rallied to tie it before Buyuktuncel powered home a layup with 12 seconds on the clock for a 34-32 Nebraska lead at halftime.
–Field Level Media
