Reserve Sam Hoiberg stole an inbounds pass and streaked downcourt for a breakaway layup with 31 seconds left in overtime to propel Nebraska to a 70-66 victory over Maryland on Sunday in Lincoln, Neb.
Derrick Walker collected 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while sudden star Keisei Tominaga added 20 points as the Cornhuskers (14-14, 7-10 Big Ten) cooled off the red-hot Terrapins, who were coming off an upset of No. 3 Purdue.
Julian Reese had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Maryland (18-9, 9-7), and Jahmir Young added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.
It was the third straight win for resurgent Nebraska, which was coming off upset victories over Wisconsin and Rutgers. This month the Cornhuskers are 4-1 as Tominaga has averaged 23.6 points per game.
In a seesaw second half, the Cornhuskers showed their resilience. After blowing a nine-point lead, they fell behind by eight points, 50-42, before rallying in the final seven minutes of regulation to force the extra period.
Walker made two baskets in the final 3:14 of regulation and Tominaga made 4 of 4 free-throw attempts in the final 1:24 as Nebraska extended the game.
Maryland took a 64-61 lead in overtime on a fast-break slam by Hakim Hart (14 points). But Walker hit two free throws and Sam Griesel (12 points) made a driving layup in transition to give Nebraska the lead for good.
Hoiberg, the son of Nebraska coach and former NBA player Fred Hoiberg, had another key steal in the extra session and added two free throws with 14 seconds left to help the Cornhuskers nail down the victory.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak against the Terps, which included an 82-63 loss at Maryland on Jan. 28.
Coming off its emotionally-draining, court-storming conquest of Purdue, Maryland got off to a ragged start, missing 14 of its first 16 shots and committing five turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Nebraska survived a dry spell of its own in the second half when it missed eight straight shots, allowing the Terps to turn a nine-point deficit into a 44-38 lead.
–Field Level Media
