Nebraska forward Juwan Gary (4) goes up for two against Rutgers on Jan. 16, 2025. (Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics) LINCOLN–(NU Athletics Jan. 16)–Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper combined for 45 points, and the Nebraska men’s basketball team fell 85-82 to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The loss ended the Huskers’ 20-game home win streak, and NU fell to 12-5 (2-4 Big Ten) on the season, while Rutgers improved to 10-8 (3-4 Big Ten). Brice Williams led the Big Red with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and Juwan Gary followed closely with 20 points and added seven rebounds. Connor Essegian scored 12, Andrew Morgan had 11, and Rollie Worster notched 10. Worster also posted five assists. The Huskers started 3-of-3 from beyond the arc to jump out to an early 11-6 lead at the first media timeout. Rutgers made three straight 3s of their own to tie the game at 20 before Worster knocked down two free throws to retake the lead. Morgan provided a spark off the bench for NU, scoring seven quick points to keep the game within one point with four minutes to play in the half. Gary knocked down two free throws to tie the game at 37-37 before Ace Bailey made a deep three to give Rutgers a 40-37 lead at the half. Gary led all scorers with 13 first-half points, to go along with five rebounds, which led all Huskers. The trio of Gary, Williams, and Morgan combined for 27 of Nebraska’s 37 points. Gary and the Huskers started the second half on a 6-0 run, forcing Rutgers to take a timeout with 18:12 to play. Three-pointers by Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper helped Rutgers retake the lead before Williams made his first basket in nearly 10 minutes to take a 54-52 lead with 13:59 to play in the game. Back-and-forth scoring down the back stretch had the game knotted at 67 a piece before Essegian knocked down his fourth three of the game to give NU a 70-67 lead with eight minutes remaining. Bailey knocked down his fourth three of the game to retake the lead at 77-76 before Fred Hoiberg took a timeout with 3:36 to go in the second half. Dylan Harper scored four quick points out of the timeout, forcing the Huskers to call another timeout with 2:21 remaining. A Brice Williams layup cut the Rutgers lead to two with just 14.2 seconds remaining. After two free throws by Ace Bailey, Williams drilled a pull-up three to bring the game within one with 4.9 seconds to go. Dylan Grant sealed the game with a dunk to give Rutgers the 85-82 win on Thursday night in Lincoln. The Huskers will hit the road to take on the Maryland Terrapins at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday, Jan. 19. The game will be televised on BTN.