University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Basketball Rips Western Illinois 86-64
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
- Click Here For Box Score
Ben Johnson scored a game-high 23 points to lead Minnesota (3-2) past Western Illinois (0-7) 86-64 this afternoon at Williams Arena. The Golden Gophers opened the second half on a 12-0 run to take a commanding lead.
Kris Humphries posted his fourth double-double in five games this season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson was 10-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point range. Johnson scored 20 of his points in the second half. Maurice Hargrow added 16 points and seven rebounds.
Western Illinois played a strong first half closing within five points at 31-26 with 1:37 left in the half on a three-pointer by J.D. Summers. However, that was the last field goal the Leathernecks would get for the next 11:15. During the stretch, the Gophers went on a 28- 7 run to the game away. Minnesota took its largest lead of 28 points at 63-35 with 9:16 left in the game on a Johnson basket.
The Gophers rebounded from a poor shooting first half where they shot just 40 percent (12-30). Minnesota fired 59 percent in the second half (23-39). The Gophers also ripped the Leathernecks on the boards, posting a 53-30 rebounding advantage. The 53 rebounds is the most in a game since the 1998-99 season.
This was the first of three games this week for Minnesota. It returns to action on Tuesday night to face Long Beach State at Williams Arena.
Post-Game Notes
? This was the fourth meeting ever between Minnesota and Western Illinois. The Gophers now lead the series 4-0. Minnesota has never lost to a Mid-Continent Conference team, posting a 12-0 record.
? Minnesota is 41-13 all-time in non-conference games under Dan Monson. The Golden Gophers are 35-4 in non-conference games at Williams Arena under Dan Monson.
? Dan Monson improved to 17-4 in the month of December.
? Western Illinois registered its first points of the second half on a free throw at 14:52 and its first field goal at 10:23. The Leathernecks were held scoreless for 11:15 going back to the end of the first half. The Gophers started the second half on runs of 12-0 and 26-7.
? With 14 points today, Kris Humphries has scored in double figures in every game of his career (5).
? Humphries? streak of consecutive 20-point games ended at four.
? Humphries tallied his fourth double-double of the season.
? Humphries had a career-high three blocks.
? Ben Johnson scored in double figures for the second time this season and the ninth time in his career at Minnesota.
? Johnson scored 20+ points for the second time this season and for his career at Minnesota.
? Matt Smriga scored his first field goal of his career. He also grabbed a career-high four rebounds.
? Moe Hargrow scored in double-figures for the third time this season and the 31st time in his career.
? Aaron Robinson set a new career high for assists with eight, breaking his previous best of six against Michigan State (1/18/03).
? Michael Bauer was held scoreless for the first time since Jan. 1, 2003 against Oral Roberts.
? Adam Boone had a career-high 10 assists, breaking his former high of eight, which he accomplished twice. The last Gopher to post 10 assists was Kevin Burleson on Dec. 4, 2002 when he had 10 against Georgia Tech.
? Boone has 30 assists and just five turnovers on the season.
? Aliou Kane scored the first points of his career on a dunk.
? Stan Gaines tied his career high for points with eight.
? Tyree Bolden scored a career-high four points.
? Minnesota had a season-highs in blocks (8), field goals made (35) and grabbed a season-best 53 rebounds.
? Minnesota's 53 rebounds are the most since posting 54 against Sacramento State on Dec. 29, 1998.
Post-Game Quotes
Minnesota Head Coach Dan Monson
?Obviously Western Illinois is in the beginning stages of their program. We know that we still have a lot of work to do, but I liked our performance a lot today. Everyone's offense is inconsistent, the teams who win, string together stops and that is what we did today. We just have to start doing it on a consistent basis.?
On Kris Humphries, ?They doubled him a lot today and he did what he had to do, he spread the ball around.?
On Aaron Robinson, ? Aaron has had two games in a row now where he disrupts the opposing point guard. I like his play, he has played very well. Both Aaron and Adam have played well as far as turnovers go, I think combined only one today. It is our big guys who need to clean up, because they are accounting for over half of our turnovers.?
On Injuries, ?Jeff tweaked his ankle, and wanted to go back in today. We did not really need him so we decided not to risk further injury. Moe is also trying to get back in rhythm from his injury as well.?
On the big ten starting, ?If the Big Ten started tomorrow I would not be happy with our play, but if you ask the other coaches, I don?t think that any of them would be happy. We are starting to learn from our earlier loses and we made good improvements today defensively that I really like.?
Western Illinois Head Coach Derek Thomas
?I was very proud today of my guys in the first half as far as intensity goes. At halftime they were sucking air so I was a little concerned for the second half. We just ran out of gas today, they were too good on the boards.?
On Humphries, ?I think he is a beast. We were proud that we were the first team to keep him under 20 points.?
On Minnesota, ?I was really impressed with their rebounding. All five of our guys would go to the boards early, but the Ben got hot and we had to expand our defense. Their good athletes, like Bauer, Moe, and Kris took over on the boards.?
Minnesota guard Adam Boone: ?I?ve been playing up and down, just like the team. I?m my harshest critic and I know when I need to play better.?
On Minnesota playing better in the second half: ?at half, we realized we realized we didn?t have our confidence and we weren?t playing well.?
On the win: ?It's a big sign of what we can do.?
On coming out playing well in the second half: ?I knew if our first five set the tone, the bench would follow.?
Minnesota guard Ben Johnson:
On his recent hot streak: ?you get a few shots, you get into a grove- my teammates really did a good job of getting me open shots and getting me the ball.?
Minnesota forward Kris Humphries: on the win: ?It's a good win, all wins are good.? ?We gotta face much harder teams, but it's a good gauge to see where we?re at.?
