University of Minnesota Athletics
UNC-WILMINGTON DOWNS MINNESOTA 58-50
12/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
It was a story of two entirely different halves of basketball Tuesday night for the University of Minnesota men's hoops team, as the Golden Gophers fell 58-50 to North Carolina-Wilmington at Williams Arena in front of 12,069 fans.
After building a 31-22 halftime lead, the Maroon and Gold went cold, making only seven baskets in the second half and mustering only 19 points to the Seahawks' 36.
Minnesota (4-2, 0-0 in the Big Ten) opened the game shooting the ball well, building a 13-point lead with 3:36 remaining in the stanza. The Golden Gophers shot 41.4 percent from the floor (12-29) in the opening half and were led by freshman Rick Rickert's 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks. UNCW closed the gap to nine at half, despite shooting 26.9 percent from the floor (7-26).
The second half was a completely different story for both teams. The Seahawks caught on fire while the Golden Gophers went cold. UNCW (3-3, 0-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association) opened the second half with a 13-1 run to take the lead at 35-32. Minnesota retook the lead at 36-35 with 11:42 to play on a Rickert jumper, but the Seahawks bounced back, going on a 9-1 run in the next five minutes.
UNC-Wilmington ended the game with three players scoring in double figures, led by Ed Williams' game-high double-double (18 points and 11 rebounds). Minnesota was led by Rickert's 13 points, six boards and four blocks.
Dusty Rychart scored 10 points to reach double-digits for the third consecutive game. The senior, who was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, also added four rebounds and two assists.
Game Notes:
* 12 blocks by Minnesota was the third highest in school history.
* Loss marked the first regular season non-conference home game defeat under Monson, breaking a streak of 20 games.
* 50 points scored was the lowest for a Minnesota team since a 43-point performance versus Michigan State March 2, 2000.
* 50 points scored were the lowest in a non-conference game since a Dec. 8, 1984 victory over Princeton.
