1 week Ago
What happened? Gophers coach Ben Johnson trusted that if he put the ball in the hands of his best player Saturday he would live with the result — and Dawson Garcia delivered to lead his team to a much-needed victory. For the third straight game, the Gophers trailed at halftime, but Garcia’s four throws in the last 18.7 seconds sealed the 59-56 win against Yale at Williams Arena.
The Gophers (3-1) were atrocious offensively in the first half of Wednesday’s 54-51 loss against North Texas with 14 first-half points. They weren’t much better Saturday, down 29-19 at halftime against Yale, which held them to 29.6% shooting, including 1-for-10 from three-point range.
Entering Saturday, Garcia was leading the Big Ten in scoring with 26 points per game, but he was 2-for-8 shooting in the first half Saturday. The 6-11 senior wasn’t slowed down for long, scoring 19 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. The Gophers were outscored 23-4 after taking the first lead of the game.
They never regained the advantage until going on a 20-9 run in the second half, including a 7-0 run capped by a jumper from Femi Odukale to make it 39-38. That was the first lead since early in the first half. Yale (2-3) pulled within 54-53 after a three-pointer from John Poulakidas with 2:30 to play, but the Gophers hit five of six free throws to keep from suffering their second straight defeat.
What does it mean? The Gophers entered Saturday’s game with the worst scoring offense in the Big Ten at 66.3 points per game. They also ranked second-to-last in free throw percentage at 60%, which can make it hard to win close games.
One of only a few Big Ten teams without at least two players scoring in double figures on average, the Gophers needed to find another consistent scorer other than Garcia. Brennan Rigsby had his best game with the Gophers with 15 points and six rebounds. Patterson scored seven points, but he led the team with six assists.
Yale beat Auburn in the NCAA tournament first round last season, so it could arguably be the toughest opponent the Gophers will face at home in nonconference play. The Bulldogs were competitive in a 92-84 loss at Purdue this season. MVP Garcia shot 6-for-17 from the field, but he was 10-for-12 from the foul line.
In the past two games, the Savage native is 20-for-22 on free throws. Both teams went back and forth throughout the second half, including seven lead changes. But Garcia scored four points during a 6-0 run for the Gophers to take a two-possession lead late.
Lu’Cye Patterson’s floater made it 54-50 with two minutes to play. Injury updates Mike Mitchell Jr. (ankle), Tyler Cochran (foot) and Caleb Williams (mononucleosis) were out Saturday.
Mitchell missed his second straight game. Cochran and Williams haven’t played this season. Up next The Gophers have two more home games before traveling to play in Orlando over Thanksgiving.
They host Cleveland State on Tuesday and Central Michigan nearly a week later, on Nov. 25..
