Huskers win over Florida State in tourney finale

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Derrick Walker put up a double-double and Nebraska pulled away from Florida State in the second half to win the seventh-place game of the ESPN Events Invitational on Sunday night, posting a 75-58 victory.

Walker converted 10 of his 12 field-goal attempts and scored 20 points to lead five Cornhuskers into double-figure scoring and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Nebraska (4-3) dropped its first two games in the tournament, falling to Oklahoma in the opener, 69-56, and dropping a 73-61 decision to Memphis. The Seminoles (1-7) were upset by Siena in the opener, 80-63, then fell to Stanford 70-60.

The game was tied at 26-26 after Florida State’s Caleb Mills scored at the basket with 3:44 left in the first half, but the Cornhuskers separated themselves with a Walker layup, a Keisei Tominaga 3 and a Juwan Gary dunk for a 33-36 advantage they took into intermission.

Matthew Cleveland hit two free throws to get the Seminoles within 5 three minutes into the second half, but Nebraska responded with a Walker dunk, and a pair of 3s by Sam Greisel to push the lead into double digits, where it stayed the rest of the way.

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Greisel finished with 13 points and nine assists for Nebraska, which shot a brisk 33 of 66 from the field. C.J. Wilcher and Tominaga each added 13 points and Gary chipped in 10.

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Florida State converted just 23 of its 59 shots from the floor (39%), including just 3 of 21 from beyond the arc. Cleveland led the offensive effort with 17 points and Cam’Ron Fletcher added 10 points and eight rebounds.

NEXT UP

The road ahead does not get easier for Florida State. Wednesday the Seminoles play in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, hosting No. 24 Purdue, fresh off a 75-56 rout of No. 8 Duke to win the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Portland. Saturday they open ACC play at No. 5 Virginia.

Nebraska plays host to Boston College Wednesday in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge.