La Crosse native shoots just 4 of 13 in scoring 12 points.
LINCOLN, Neb. — A 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds and a blocked shot on the game’s final attempt helped the Wisconsin men’s basketball team hold off Nebraska in overtime.
Bronson Koenig swung the ball over to Nigel Hayes, who nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.4 seconds left that ultimately gave the seventh-ranked Badgers a 70-69 win.
Nebraska came down to win it but Ethan Happ came up with a blocked shot that preserved the Badgers ninth consecutive win.
The credentials of Bronson Koenig have been proven.
But that @NIGEL_HAYES guy is pretty clutch, too. #OnWisconsinhttps://t.co/9z5N045fLU
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 10, 2017
Hayes’ 3-pointer wouldn’t have mattered had Koenig, a la Crosse native, not banked in a 3 of his own to tie the game 67-67 with 1:27 remaining in overtime.
He called bank.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯#KlutchKoenig
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 10, 2017
Koenig, however, struggled again from the field. The senior point guard was 4-for-13 in scoring 12 points. Over his last four games, Koenig is 13-for-47 from the field and 7-for-26 from beyond the arc.
Wisconsin nearly had the game in regulation but Nebraska’s Michael Jacobson forced overtime with his 3 just ahead of the buzzer to tie it 58-58.
Hayes scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime for the Badgers (21-3, 10-1 Big Ten), who won their eighth straight and 17th of their last 18.
Zak Showalter was 4 of 6 from beyond the arc in scoring 15. Webster had 19 points to lead Nebraska (10-14, 4-8), which has lost eight of its last nine.
The Big Ten-leading Badgers shot just 36.5 percent and were outrebounded 50-37, but they were able to win for the eighth time in 11 games away from Madison and stay a game and a half ahead of Purdue. Wisconsin has won 17 of its last 18.