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Rhode Island upsets No. 21 Nebraska in OT

Nov 23, 2014 - 10:46 AM Kingston, RI (SportsNetwork.com) - Freshman Jared Terrell made consecutive 3- pointers to open overtime and Rhode Island upset No. 21 Nebraska 66-62 on Saturday for its first win over a ranked opponent in almost 16 years.

E.C. Matthews had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Terrell scored 12 for the Rams (3-0), who won their first three games for the first time in five seasons.

Shavon Shields led Nebraska (2-1) with 25 points and nine rebounds and Terran Petteway scored 15.

Petteway, one of the nation's top scorers, rolled his right ankle stepping on the foot of a Rams player midway through the second half. He limped off the court but later returned.

Terrell's 3-pointers gave the Rams a 59-55 lead 1 1/2 minutes into overtime. They led by as many as seven with under two minutes to play but three Walter Pitchford free throws trimmed it to four and Nebraska later got within three on Petteway's foul shots with 50 seconds remaining.

A Matthews free throw extended it to four points and he sealed the win on two foul shots with four seconds remaining after Petteway's dunk.

Fans at the Ryan Center stormed the court at the buzzer to celebrate the Rams' first victory over a nationally ranked opponent since they beat No. 25 Utah on Dec. 2, 1998.

Petteway's free throws gave Nebraska a 49-47 lead with 3:43 left in the second half. He picked up his fourth foul over a minute later and Hassan Martin made the foul shots to tie the score at 51.

Matthews drove the lane for a double-clutch runner that gave the Rams a 53-51 edge with 1:43 remaining and grabbed the rebound after Petteway missed a trey, but was short on his own 3-point try.

Martin then blocked Petteway, but Shields was there for the putback to tie the game at 53-all with 35.7 seconds remaining.

On the last series of regulation, Matthews missed an off-balance bank shot in traffic on the low right. Martin grabbed the rebound on the other side of the net but his shot went off the rim as time expired.

Shields scored 11 points in the first half and Nebraska took a 23-19 lead into the break. The teams combined to shoot 2-for-22 on 3-pointers in the half, with Rhode Island missing all of its 11 tries.

Game Notes

The Rams finished 3-for-19 on 3-pointers and the Huskers were 3-for-20 ... Nebraska beat Rhode Island 83-63 on Nov. 20, 2011, in the only other meeting between the teams ... Nebraska faces Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday ... Rhode Island plays nationally-ranked Kansas on Thursday.