White leads Nebraska to blowout win over Penn State

Nebraska’s Andrew White III started hot and stayed hot Saturday.

The 6-foot-7 junior scored 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the game to give his team a six-point against Penn State. He opened the second half on an identical scoring flurry, dropping 15 more points as the Huskers took a 17-point lead with 10 minutes to play.

White poured in a career-high 35 points as Nebraska ran away with a 70-54 win over the Nittany Lions at Pinnacle Bank Arena. He finished 11 for 17 from the field and 6 for 10 from beyond the arc.

“The coaches tell me I’m the guy, that I have to lead the team now,” White said. “The coaches were on me just this morning about having to do better based on my performances in practice and the Wisconsin game. They challenged me to have a big game on both ends of the floor because they knew we were going to need a lot out of me to win this game.”

Brandon Taylor was the lone player to score in double figures for Penn State, finishing with 14 points. The Nittany Lions shot 38.2 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from 3-point range.

While White knocked down shot after shot, the Nittany Lions (12-13, 3-9 Big Ten) couldn’t buy a bucket for a stretch.

After Jordan Dickerson finished inside to pull Penn State within 36-33 with just less than 17 minutes to play, the Nittany Lions went scoreless for more than five minutes.

The Huskers (14-12, 6-7) built a 16-point lead during that stretch and rolled to the victory. Nebraska outscored Penn State 34-7 to start the second half and take a 28-point lead with less than eight minutes to play.

Nebraska held a 23-17 lead midway through the first half, thanks to White. White knocked down a 3-pointer to give his team the six-point lead and push his point total to 15. He started 6 for 7 from the field.

“He probably could have scored as many as I would have dialed up for him,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “We really needed that. He was a real shot in the arm.”

White was coming off a 10-point performance in a loss to Wisconsin. He was 0 for 2 from beyond the arc in that game.

“You just knew White was going to come out like that,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. “He played terrific. Watching the Wisconsin game, you knew he wouldn’t be held down another game in a row.”

The Nittany Lions reponded to White’s early-game burst with a 9-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Taylor to push them ahead 26-23.

But Nebraska took a 32-31 lead into the break after Glynn Watson Jr. hit a 3 at the buzzer.

Penn State hosts No. 4 Iowa at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 8:12 PM with the headline "White leads Nebraska to blowout win over Penn State."