• Box Score: Nebraska 59, Creighton 54
• Photo Showcase: Nebraska vs. Creighton basketball

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• Video: Nebraska coach Doc Sadler speaks at the postgame press conference following the Huskers' 59-54 win over Creighton:



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LINCOLN — Nebraska beat Creighton the same way the Huskers almost lost it.

After a first half in which Nebraska shot 3 of 18 from 3-point range, the Huskers opened the second half by sinking three 3s in the first 91 seconds. They made 6 of 8 from long distance in just more than seven minutes to take the lead for good and held on for a 59-54 victory Sunday in front of 8,102 (9,824 paid) at the Devaney Center.

“They were definitely going to make us shoot them,” Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. “And at least we weren't showing the tentativeness that we were showing in the past. No question making those (first) three was probably good for our spirit.

“I can't imagine sitting there as a crowd watching that first half. That's hard to get into.”

Creighton also relied heavily on long-range shooting as both teams doubled-up offensive players in the low post, but the Bluejays never warmed up. They went 4 for 18 in the first half and 2 for 15 in the second.

“I'm not sure either team really won the game,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “I think we just did a better job of losing it than they did.”

Brandon Richardson, Lance Jeter and Caleb Walker all hit 3s, and Richardson scored on a fast-break layup to tie the game at 32 2:06 after halftime. Nebraska had trailed 29-21 at the break after falling behind as much as 27-16 in the first half.

Richardson hit another 3 to tie the game at 37, then Walker's 3 put the Huskers ahead to stay at 40-37. Jeter made it 43-37 with another deep shot.

“It kind of shocked us a little bit when they started hitting shots,” Creighton's Darryl Ashford said. “But we knew they're a capable shooting team. We have to buckle down and defend those shots.”

Richardson scored 18 points to lead Nebraska (6-2), which won its fourth straight game. Jeter had 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and no turnovers, and Walker grabbed 10 rebounds.

For the season, Nebraska is shooting 42 percent from the field, including 28 percent from 3, while scoring an average of 28.6 points in the first half. But in the second half, the Huskers shoot 54 percent overall and 36.8 percent from 3 while averaging 37.9 points.

“I think it's a mental thing,” Jeter said. “You just have to come out in the first half the same way we do in the second half, with a little bit of urgency. When our shots don't fall, I feel that we forget about defense sometimes too, so we don't play a complete game.”

Doug McDermott scored all 10 of his points in the first half for Creighton (4-4), which has lost three straight.

“We weren't able to establish any sort of inside game the second half,” Greg McDermott said. “We got Doug some baskets the first half and Kenny (Lawson) got one late, and if we're going to be successful, that's where it has to start. We should not be a team that shoots half its shots (33 of 60) from the 3-point line.”

Creighton stayed close and got within two, 53-51, on a basket by Lawson with 3:23 to go, but the Bluejays missed three consecutive 3s, and Nebraska doubled the lead when Jorge Brian Diaz worked off a cross-screen into the low post and scored with 1:25 left.

Lawson's three-point play made it 55-54 with 1:06 left, and Richardson was off-target on a 3 on the other end. But Ashford was called for a foul while trying to block out Walker and Nebraska got the ball back.

Ashford's foul was only the Bluejays' second of the half, so they had to burn five fouls before finally sending Nebraska to the line in for a one-and-one with 26 seconds to go.

Jeter made both free throws, then Creighton called timeout and ran a play that included a 3-point look for Lawson. He misfired off the glass — the 6-foot-9 forward was 0 for 5 from 3 — and Antoine Young was well short on a 3 after a Creighton rebound.

Nebraska's Drake Beranek made a game-clinching layup on the ensuing fast break with less than a second left.

Nebraska has won three straight at home in the intrastate series, slowing a streak in which Creighton had won nine of 11 regular-season meetings between the teams.

“It actually feels good,” Richardson said. “We can say we have bragging rights, so we can carry that until the next time we play.”

Contact the writer:

402-444-1027, rob.white@owh.com

twitter.com/RWhiteOWH

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• Video: Watch highlights from Sunday's game between Nebraska and Creighton: