Connor Essegian had a career-high 29 points off the bench and Nebraska hit 13 3-pointers in a 96-79 nonconference win over South Dakota on Wednesday night in Lincoln, Neb.

Essegian, a junior guard who transferred from Wisconsin, was 10 of 22 from the field and 6 of 15 from outside. Brice Williams added 21 points, including 15 in the first half, as the Cornhuskers (5-1) scored their most points in nearly four years.

South Dakota (6-3) got 20 points from Chase Forte, all in the second half, and 16 from Quandre Bullock.

Nebraska played most of the game without senior forward Juwan Gary, who was scoreless and played just two minutes in the first half after being stabbed in the eye and later appearing to injure his shoulder. Fellow starter Berke Buyuktuncel also did not play in the second half due to an unknown injury.

After taking a 19-point lead into halftime thanks to 10 made 3-pointers, Nebraska extended the lead to 23 before South Dakota made seven of eight shots to get within 68-53 on Forte’s 3-pointer with 14:03 about. Forte’s free throw cut the deficit to 77-65 with 9:15 remaining.

The Coyotes cut their deficit back to 12, trailing 83-71 with 7:09 to go, but would get no closer as they would make just three field goals the rest of the way.

Nebraska built a 29-16 lead in less than nine minutes thanks to seven straight points from Essegian, including a four-point play. But the turnover allowed South Dakota to get back into it, with the Coyotes going on a 7-0 run to get within 31-25 with 6:57 left in the first half.

Williams responded by scoring 10 straight points to allow the Cornhuskers to increase their lead to 16 points. Ahron Ulis hit a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer for a 54-35 lead.

South Dakota returns home to host Idaho State on December 4, while Nebraska hosts North Florida on Sunday.

–Field-level media