Bo Spencer scored 15 points and dished out a career-high nine assists as Nebraska closed out its non-conference schedule with a 72-69 victory over visiting Central Michigan on Tuesday.

Brandon Richardson chipped in 15 points for the Huskers (8-3), who are on a season-high four-game winning streak.

Playing without two of its top three scorers – Dylan Talley and Jorge Brian Diaz – for the second straight game, Nebraska shot 50 percent and fared much better on the offensive end against the Chippewas (5-7) after a 39.6 percent effort in Saturday’s 14-point win over Alcorn State.

However, its defense struggled to shut down a Central Michigan squad that shot 52.1 percent after entering this contest as one of the worst shooting teams in the country.

After a hot shooting first half, the Huskers appeared to be pulling away when Mike Fox hit a jumper with 13:20 remaining for a 45-33 advantage, but the Chippewas clawed back into the game by hitting eight of their next 11 shots to move to within one point at the 5:01 mark.

But Spencer scored on a layup on the next possession as Nebraska held Central Michigan scoreless over the next 3:49 to stretch the lead back to eight and held on by hitting 10 of its final 12 free throws.

Trey Zeigler finished with 20 points, eight assists and eight rebounds – all team highs – to pace the Chippewas, who have lost five straight on the road.