University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Basketball Falls To Illinois 79-69
2/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Behind 19 points and 11 assists from Deron Williams, Illinois pulled out a 79-69 victory over Minnesota this afternoon at Williams Arena. Illinois used a 13-1 run in the second half to break open a close game and improve to 15-5, 6-3 in the Big Ten. The Gophers fell to 8- 13, 0-9 in the Big Ten.
Kris Humphries scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Minnesota, who lost its eight straight contest.
Minnesota stormed out of the gates, making its first seven shots of the game. Leading 8-7, consecutive three-pointers by Humphries, Stan Gaines and Adam Boone put the Gophers up 17-7 at the 16:24 mark. A jumper by Aaron Robinson and another trey by Gaines gave Minnesota its largest lead at 22-7. Gaines poured in 11 points in the first five minutes of the game.
After Ben Johnson gave Minnesota a 28-17 lead on a leaning jumper, Illinois went on a 15-2 run to take its first lead since the opening basket at 32-30 with 7:32 left. The Gophers scored seven of the next nine points to take a 37-34 edge. The Gophers led until 1:32 left in the half when Williams nailed a three to lead 43-41. Minnesota notched the last three points of the half to take a 44-43 edge at halftime.
After three lead changes to open the second half, Aaron Robinson drilled a trey from the left side to give the Gophers a 54-53 lead with 15:27 on the clock. That was Minnesota's final lead of the game as Illinois went on a 19-4 run to lead 72-58 with 6:22 remaining. The Gophers pulled within nine on a Humphries basket with three minutes left but Illinois was 5-6 from the line down the stretch to clinch the win.
Gaines finished with 12 points while Robinson posted a season-high 10.
Williams led for Illinois players in double figures with 19. Dee Brown added 18 while Nick Smith added 13.
The Gophers host Michigan on Wednesday night at Williams Arena. Tip- off is set for 7 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
- Illinois leads the series 103-61 over Minnesota. Illinois has won 11 straight games against the Golden Gophers.
- Minnesota hit its first seven shots from the field to start the game, including four three-pointers.
- Stan Gaines tied a career-high with two three- pointers.
- Gaines scored 12 points in the game, his third double-figure scoring game of the season.
- Gaines has scored 42 points in his last four home games for an average of 10.5 ppg.
- Minnesota is 6-5 when leading at halftime this season.
- Kris Humphries scored 23 points. He has scored in double figures in all 21 games this season and has 20 points or more in 16 games this season. The record for 20-point games in a season is 20 by Mychal Thompson in 1976-77. His 16 20-point games currently ranks fourth all- time at Minnesota.
- Aaron Robinson scored a season-high 10 points in the game.
- Ben Johnson had a season-high six assists.
- Minnesota's 44 first-half points was its second-highest first half total in Big Ten play this season. The highest was 45 at Penn State.
- Minnesota's 25 second-half points was its second-lowest second-half output of the season. The lowest was 21 against Northwestern on Jan. 31.
- Jeff Hagen tied a season-high with seven points in the game.
Post-Game Quotes
Minnesota Head Coach Dan Monson
"I was never really happy with how we guarded them. Individually, we got into a flow early on, but we never got it back together as a team. We let them get in such a flow offensively that you can't come back if you don't stop them."
"Our confidence was down after we lost our lead and they just kept making shots. We couldn't keep them in front of us. They were too quick for us and I thought we were a little tired. I thought we did a lot of good things but we couldn't keep them going throughout the game."
"We only scored 25 points in the second half. That's not going to get you a win. It takes a lot out of you when you're trying to stop them the entire game. It's not an individual problem, it's a team problem."
"Aaron Robinson gave us a spark and a lot of energy and it's too bad he kept cramping up."
"We started small which limited Jeff Hagen and Michael Bauer's minutes but I still saw a lot of good things from them when they were in the game. You're never happy as a coaching staff when you go scoreless for nine minutes. I didn't see the confidence we needed to get ourselves back in the game."
Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber
"The way the game started with them scoring 21 points in the first five minutes, they came out with more energy. We made the wrong decisions on how to guard Humphries in the first half. We played very good defense in the second half and they started doubting themselves like they have all year. Now we have Michigan State coming up and they are playing as well as anyone in the league. Nothing phases them."
"Our bench is very important. (Jack) Ingram did real well. This season hasn't been what he wanted it to be. Now he's rotating and trapping and doing what we want him to do."
"Our team realizes what it takes to win in this league. They're preparing better and starting to realize you have to play defense everywhere, every game."
On the start of the game:
"Onslaught! What do you do? Gaines was hitting threes. They came out like a house on fire and took it to us. You try not to panic. So, we took a timeout and got back in it."
Minnesota guard Ben Johnson
"The last three or four games, we have had good starts. Just the last half gives us trouble. We've been playing teams tough for 30 or 35 minutes but they need 40."
Minnesota forward Michael Bauer
"We had a good stretch in the beginning but we didn't sustain. After that, we let them open up their transition game and that's where they score their points."
"We have to do our best to keep a lead throughout the game. WE have to play hard, do what the coaches say to get through this funk."
Minnesota forward Stan Gaines
"We have to answer the other team's runs. We need to find a happy medium with making shots and playing defense."
