Nebraska 75, Tennessee Martin 64: Walter Pitchford set career highs with 19 points and six 3-pointers as the host Cornhuskers saw a 19-point second-half lead dwindle to four before pulling away.

On a night where Shavon Shields – fifth in the nation in scoring at 23.5 points per game – finished with just five – Pitchford enjoyed a career night, going 6-for-10 from 3-point range for Nebraska. Terran Petteway added 18 points and eight rebounds for Nebraska (4-1), which led 52-33 early in the second half.

Twymond Howard led the Skyhawks (3-2) with 18 points, and Deville Smith added 15 on 5-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. Tennessee Martin, which used a 12-0 run to pull within 54-50 with nine minutes to play, finished 11-of-27 from 3-point range.

Two Petteway free throws made it 54-38 with 13 minutes remaining, but Nebraska did not score for more than four minutes and Tennessee Martin used back-to-back 3-pointers from Smith to get within four points. Petteway’s basket ended the skid as the Cornhuskers scored 10 of the next 13 points. Shields’ layup with 6:48 to play made it 64-53.

Two Myles Taylor free throws put the Skyhawks ahead 24-23 with 6:36 remaining in the first half, but Tennessee Martin missed six of its final seven first-half shots. Petteway hit two 3-pointers during a 17-3 run, Tai Webster scored five points and Tarin Smith’s layup two seconds before the buzzer made it 40-27 at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pitchford set his previous career bests of 18 points and four 3-pointers Feb. 16 at Michigan State. … The Cornhuskers shot 10-for-23 from 3-point range. … Shields, who scored a career-high 35 points Tuesday against Omaha, hit just 2-of-9 shots from the field.