Gophers get first conference victory in thrilling fashion
The Gophers got off the schneid in a big way on Thursday night, capturing their first conference win behind a 40-foot heave from Dawson Garcia that found the bottom of the net as time expired, giving Minnesota an 84-81 victory in overtime. Garcia led all scorers with 27 points, and none were bigger than the final trio of the evening, giving Minnesota fans a court-storming opportunity and handing coach Ben Johnson his first victory over a top 25 team.
For your viewing pleasure:
DAWSON GARCIA – logo three beats the buzzer and Michigan, first B1G win for the Gophers, first B1G loss for Michigan
THE STAT: Michigan threatened to put the Gophers away on multiple occasions, jumping out to two different leads of 11 and 10 points in the first and second halves, respectively. However, Garcia (27), Lu’cye Patterson (22) and Mike Mitchell Jr. (20) each topped the 20-point mark, keeping Minnesota afloat and within striking distance.
TURNING POINT: Michigan led 51-41 with 12:50 left in the game before the Gophers went on a 10-0 run to erase the deficit in less than three minutes.
HOT: Patterson scored a season high 22 points, including 15 in the second half as the Gophers chipped away at the Wolverine advantage. He committed just one turnover in 37 minutes.
NOT: Parker Fox played just 14 minutes, and just four in the second half, failing to score on two shot attempts and committing two turnovers.
GOOD MOVE: Aside from the Garcia game-winner, he hit two huge free throws at the end of regulation to tie the game and help send it to overtime. The Gophers also took great care of the ball, committing just six turnovers.
BAD MOVE: With :39 left in regulation and with a 69-68 lead, Issac Asuma received the inbounds pass in the corner and, while falling out of bounds, heaved the ball across the court, hitting the hoop and sending it out of bounds. The Gophers had one timeout left at the time and gave the ball back to Michigan, who nailed a three-pointer and looked to be in position to come from behind.
UP NEXT: Minnesota heads to Iowa City on Tuesday to take on the Hawkeyes, who sit at 12-5 on the season and 3-3 in the Big Ten.