Lincoln, Nebraska: Huskers Beat Le Moyne 106-64 in Opener as Sandfort Passes 1,000 Points

Pryce Sandfort needed one basket to make history on Monday night in Lincoln. The senior forward scored 20 points and passed 1,000 points for his career with his first shot, and Nebraska beat Le Moyne 106-64 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in the season opener for both teams.

Sandfort, who played his first two seasons at Iowa, is now at 1,019 career points. He is the lone full-time starter back from a Nebraska team that reached the Sweet 16 last season for the first time in program history. He scored 16 points and took five rebounds in the first half alone, even as he struggled from long range, finishing 1 of 6 from 3-point range after setting a school record with 129 made 3-pointers last year.

Jacobsen closes the first half

Cale Jacobsen scored a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He had 14 points in the first half, including seven straight points in a span of 1:26 inside an 11-0 run that closed the half. Sandfort and Jacobsen combined for 30 first-half points and scored Nebraska's final 19 points of the half.

Nebraska shot 62.5 percent in the first half and led 58-32 at the break. The 58 points were the program's highest first-half total since 2005. A 12-0 run made it 29-17, and Le Moyne never came closer than nine points again. Nebraska outscored the Dolphins 41-17 over the final 12:05 of the half.

The bench adds 48

Five Huskers reached double figures. Connor Essegian scored 13 points, and Damon Wilkinson and Jacob Lanier added 11 points each off the bench. Nebraska got 48 points from its reserves. Trevan Leonhardt handed out seven assists without a turnover, and the Huskers finished with 24 assists against just eight turnovers. Nebraska shot 53.8 percent from the field, made 14 of 30 shots from 3-point range, won the rebounds 40-29 and outscored Le Moyne 40-22 in the paint.

Trevor Roe led Le Moyne with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Jayden Teat added 14 points. Le Moyne, in its fourth season at the Division I level, shot 39 percent and fell to 0-10 against Power Five opponents.

Nebraska's 106 points were its highest total since 2020, and the win was its 23rd straight regular-season non-conference victory dating back to 2023. After a 1-2 exhibition preseason, the opener read as a full answer.

Nebraska goes on the road on Saturday, November 7, to face Providence in the Hall of Fame Tipoff at Mohegan Sun Arena, with tipoff at 6 p.m. Central on FS1.