The Huskers were ice cold from 3-point range against Bethune-Cookman, their finishing ability came and went and they never got the knockout punch as a big opponent scared the start of the season.

But Nebraska protected the rim, harassed opposing ballhandlers and made sure nothing came easy for B-CU. They went downhill and made mistakes, forcing the issue with force when finesse wasn’t enough. For one night, it was enough for an aesthetically unpleasant 63-58 victory.

“We will have games like this throughout the season, but at the end of the day we knew the defense would always win the game,” forward Juwan Gary said. “Coach Nate (Loenser), coach Fred (Hoiberg), all the coaches emphasized that if the ball doesn’t go in, you have to figure out a way to win the game.

For the second straight game, Nebraska (2-0) nearly lost a significant lead in the second half. Eighteen turnovers hampered the Huskers’ momentum as B-CU fell away. The Wildcats (0-2) at one point made five straight free throws, making three after Braxton Meah and Ahron Ulis committed fouls, one shooting and one flagrant foul in the same play.

What was once a 16-point cushion was cut to 3 after a three-pointer by Kalil Camara with six minutes and 49 seconds left.

The Wildcats, who lost 94-61 to Texas Tech on Tuesday, stayed within striking distance in the closing minutes. Rollie Worster and Sam Hoiberg both missed potential three-pointers, and Hoiberg and Brice Williams sounded the front ends of one-and-ones with a chance to add breathing room. It was fitting on a night when Nebraska finished the night 4-22 from three-point range and shot 34.5% from the field.

In front of 15,138 at Pinnacle Bank Arena, NU had missed its first eight 3-pointers until Gavin Griffiths ripped the lid off the basket with a trey from the corner in the first half, but the Huskers’ offensive problems weren’t exclusive to the 3-point arc. Williams, Gary and Andrew Morgan all missed point-blank looks as shots hit the rim and bounced everywhere but the hoop.

“Early on we missed so many plays at the rim, I thought it affected our confidence,” Fred Hoiberg said. “I thought we were starting to press. We have stopped trusting.”

After being held to a pair of free throws in the first half, Williams started the second with a three-pointer off a set play. Williams hit again moments later and Rollie Worster knocked down a jumper from the wing to give Nebraska a 12-point lead, its largest of the night. The point guard let out a cathartic scream as Bethune-Cookman called a timeout.

With little work to do offensively, Nebraska attacked the basket and got to the free throw line 26 times, converting 21 of them. Meah cleared space for herself in the paint and completed enough dunks and layups to finish with 9 points.

Defensively, Worster, Gary and Sam Hoiberg chased down Wildcat ballhandlers as they tried to get into their offense, poking at the ball and getting away with steals, getting their hands into passing lanes. Nebraska forced 22 turnovers and held Bethune-Cookman to 35.5% shooting. The Huskers’ rebounders picked up the pace in transition after clearing B-CU misses, all leading to an offense that couldn’t buy a basket.

Before NOW it was all fleeting. Fred Hoiberg has talked about the Huskers’ need to develop a killer mentality, to get comfortable playing counters and to bury opponents when they have them on the ropes. Nebraska did not do that on Saturday. Hoiberg speculated that the team was still recovering from an intense workout Thursday, one designed to improve toughness and conditioning.

Nebraska has another low major opponent in Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday before the level of competition goes up. It’s one more chance for the Huskers to answer the questions raised by their first 80 minutes of basketball, to discover the version of themselves that Hoiberg knows exists but has only appeared in spurts so far.

“Once we get on the field and the lights are on,” Hoiberg said, “for some reason we don’t do the same thing we do behind the doors at the practice facility.”