Brice Williams scores 27, helping Nebraska beat UT Rio Grande Valley 87-67 in season opener

LINCOLN, Neb. – Brice Williams scored 27 points and Nebraska pulled away in the second half to beat UT Rio Grande Valley 87-67 in a season opener Monday night.

Williams made 8 of 18 shots from the floor, but just 1 of 6 from three-point range for the Cornhuskers. He went 10 for 11 from the free throw line. Nebraska outscored the Vaqueros 45-31 in the second half.

Utah transfer Rollie Worster debuted with 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting and a game-high nine rebounds for Nebraska. Connor Essegian, a transfer from Wisconsin, scored 13 off the bench and fellow reserve Andrew Morgan scored 10.

KT Raimey led the Vaqueros with 14 points off the bench. Cliff Davis had twelve points and seven rebounds. Dekedran Thorn and Tommy Gankhuyag both scored 11.

Nebraska shot 49% from the floor (28 for 57), but made just 6 of 19 from beyond the arc (31.6%). The Cornhuskers shot 25 of 35 from the free throw line, while the Vaqueros sank 6 of 9.

UT Rio Grande Valley finished 13-of-41 shooting (31.75) from beyond the arc and 11-of-21 from inside.

Nebraska is coming off a 23-11 season and a trip to the NCAA tournament under head coach Fred Hoiberg.

The Cornhuskers will be without All-Big Ten forward Rienk Mast this season, who underwent knee surgery in May.