LINCOLN, Neb. — — Connor Essegian scored a career-high 29 points and made six 3-pointers, Brice Williams added 21 points and four 3-pointers, and Nebraska defeated South Dakota 96-79 on Wednesday night.

One of Essegian’s five assists led to a half-court shot from Ahron Ulis just before the halftime buzzer, giving Nebraska a 54-35 lead. South Dakota missed a 3-pointer and Andrew Morgan grabbed the defensive rebound with about three seconds left. Morgan passed it to Essegian, who quickly found Ulis at center court for his first made basket of the game.

Nebraska’s lead never fell below 12 points in the second half. The biggest advantage was 23 at 60-27.

Braxton Meah had 12 points for Nebraska (5-1). Essegian, who averaged 10.4 points per game, scored his most points since scoring 24 in an overtime game against Michigan while playing for Wisconsin in the 2022-23 season.

South Dakota (6-3) got 20 points from Chase Forte. Dre Bullock added 16 points and Isaac Bruns scored 12.

The Cornhuskers posted a 74-63 victory over No. 14 Creighton on Friday, the Bluejays’ worst home loss since 2019.

Nebraska remains home to play North Florida on Sunday before Big Ten play against Michigan State begins on Dec. 7. South Dakota returns home to host Idaho State on December 4.

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