DanielHouse
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The Gophers managed to fend off a late Penn State surge on the heels of impressive performances from Nate Mason and freshman Jamir Harris. Mason scored 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting in an overtime win. Jamir Harris added 16 points, including back-to-back three-pointers in the extra period. The Gophers snapped a three-game losing skid during a much-needed 95-84 road win.
To open the game, Penn State went on a 13-2 run over 4:47, sparked by a Shep Garner three-pointer to lead by six points. The Gophers quickly answered as Jordan Murphy completed a three-point play and Nate Mason drilled a three-pointer. The Mason-Murphy duo scored 11 consecutive points to knot things up at 25. Their contributions helped the Gophers play a competitive first half. In the past two games, both Mason and Murphy were in foul trouble and shot poorly from the floor. The Gophers need their veteran players to actively fill up the scoring column if they are going to compete in the Big Ten.
Monday night was a different story.
Mason had 14 first half points, including four three-pointers, while Murphy added nine points and eight boards. The Gophers were in a rhythm behind the arch, knocking down 7 of their 10 first half tries. Jamir Harris and Nate Mason each added three-pointers and the Gophers led 37-34 with 2:26 left in the first half. The Gophers were quickly on an 8-for-9 shooting streak and shot 52 percent over the first 20 minutes. It was a drastic improvement, following a 29 percent performance against Purdue on Saturday.
Penn State continually hit timely three-pointers as Shep Garner drilled a long-range jumper to tie the game at 37. Minnesota’s defensive rotations were a step slow and it allowed the Nittany Lions to end small runs. However, two drives by Dupree McBrayer and Mason brought the Gophers into halftime with a four-point advantage.
To open the second half, Mason hit a tough runner in the lane and the Gophers held an eight-point lead. McBrayer was running the floor, attacking the rim and hitting long jumpers to help the Gophers continue extending their lead. When McBrayer plays within his role, he is an extremely valuable and productive player in this system. He had 24 points and three assists in 41 minutes of action. Minnesota was using ball screen action all night and Penn State had no answer for Mason or McBrayer. Jordan Murphy was also efficient around the basket, scoring 22 points, as the Gophers had four players in double figures.
The Gophers led by as many as 13 points in the second half until Penn State went on a 6-0 run over 1:37 to trim the advantage to five. Tony Carr was attacking the rim hard and Minnesota didn’t have any answer for him in the second half. He had 33 points, most of which came off aggressive drives to the basket. Shep Garner drilled a three-pointer and Mike Watkins finished a dunk to tie the game at 65. It was a back-and-forth battle, but Penn State capitalized after Nate Mason made just one of his three free throws after being fouled beyond the arch. Jordan Murphy quickly answered by delivering a strong finish at the rim to give the Gophers a 72-71 lead with 35.5 seconds left. Bakary Konate added two free throws, but a last-second Tony Carr three-pointer sent the game to overtime. Prior to the made three-pointer, the Gophers decided not to foul Carr when they had one to give late in the game. Luckily, three consecutive triples, including back-to-back makes by Jamir Harris lifted the Gophers to an overtime win.
Minnesota finally looked comfortable on offense as Richard Pitino continued to shuffle players in the rotation. Pitino started freshman guard Jamir Harris and played Gaston Diedhiou more minutes in the second half. Harris picked up several loose balls, including one which led to a key layup with just over two minutes left. He also hit two big three-pointers in overtime to extend the Gophers’ lead. He had 16 points in his first career start.
Diedhiou had a nice hook shot in the second half and is effective when he isn’t tired. If he can get conditioned, perhaps the Gophers could start him at the five-spot over Bakary Konate. Konate had strong minutes on defense around the rim, but he simply cannot play more than three minutes at a time.
The Gophers showed fight in this game and may have found a positive rotation to carry forward into the remaining slate of Big Ten games.
To open the game, Penn State went on a 13-2 run over 4:47, sparked by a Shep Garner three-pointer to lead by six points. The Gophers quickly answered as Jordan Murphy completed a three-point play and Nate Mason drilled a three-pointer. The Mason-Murphy duo scored 11 consecutive points to knot things up at 25. Their contributions helped the Gophers play a competitive first half. In the past two games, both Mason and Murphy were in foul trouble and shot poorly from the floor. The Gophers need their veteran players to actively fill up the scoring column if they are going to compete in the Big Ten.
Monday night was a different story.
Mason had 14 first half points, including four three-pointers, while Murphy added nine points and eight boards. The Gophers were in a rhythm behind the arch, knocking down 7 of their 10 first half tries. Jamir Harris and Nate Mason each added three-pointers and the Gophers led 37-34 with 2:26 left in the first half. The Gophers were quickly on an 8-for-9 shooting streak and shot 52 percent over the first 20 minutes. It was a drastic improvement, following a 29 percent performance against Purdue on Saturday.
Penn State continually hit timely three-pointers as Shep Garner drilled a long-range jumper to tie the game at 37. Minnesota’s defensive rotations were a step slow and it allowed the Nittany Lions to end small runs. However, two drives by Dupree McBrayer and Mason brought the Gophers into halftime with a four-point advantage.
To open the second half, Mason hit a tough runner in the lane and the Gophers held an eight-point lead. McBrayer was running the floor, attacking the rim and hitting long jumpers to help the Gophers continue extending their lead. When McBrayer plays within his role, he is an extremely valuable and productive player in this system. He had 24 points and three assists in 41 minutes of action. Minnesota was using ball screen action all night and Penn State had no answer for Mason or McBrayer. Jordan Murphy was also efficient around the basket, scoring 22 points, as the Gophers had four players in double figures.
The Gophers led by as many as 13 points in the second half until Penn State went on a 6-0 run over 1:37 to trim the advantage to five. Tony Carr was attacking the rim hard and Minnesota didn’t have any answer for him in the second half. He had 33 points, most of which came off aggressive drives to the basket. Shep Garner drilled a three-pointer and Mike Watkins finished a dunk to tie the game at 65. It was a back-and-forth battle, but Penn State capitalized after Nate Mason made just one of his three free throws after being fouled beyond the arch. Jordan Murphy quickly answered by delivering a strong finish at the rim to give the Gophers a 72-71 lead with 35.5 seconds left. Bakary Konate added two free throws, but a last-second Tony Carr three-pointer sent the game to overtime. Prior to the made three-pointer, the Gophers decided not to foul Carr when they had one to give late in the game. Luckily, three consecutive triples, including back-to-back makes by Jamir Harris lifted the Gophers to an overtime win.
Minnesota finally looked comfortable on offense as Richard Pitino continued to shuffle players in the rotation. Pitino started freshman guard Jamir Harris and played Gaston Diedhiou more minutes in the second half. Harris picked up several loose balls, including one which led to a key layup with just over two minutes left. He also hit two big three-pointers in overtime to extend the Gophers’ lead. He had 16 points in his first career start.
Diedhiou had a nice hook shot in the second half and is effective when he isn’t tired. If he can get conditioned, perhaps the Gophers could start him at the five-spot over Bakary Konate. Konate had strong minutes on defense around the rim, but he simply cannot play more than three minutes at a time.
The Gophers showed fight in this game and may have found a positive rotation to carry forward into the remaining slate of Big Ten games.