University of Minnesota Athletics
No Luck for the Gophers in Las Vegas
12/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Golden Gopher basketball team fell to 5-8 on the season with a 62-58 loss to UNLV on Friday night in Las Vegas.
Minnesota trailed by 10 with 4:06 left in the game but clawed to within three with under a minute remaining. Lawrence Westbrook hit back-to-back buckets to make the score 61-58 and had a chance to make it a one-point game in the final 10 seconds, but his driving layup rimmed out and Wendell White sealed the game for the Rebels with a free throw.
The Gophers turned in a solid defensive effort, holding a UNLV team which entered the game averaging over 80 points a contest to just 62 points. Minnesota held the Rebels to just 36 percent (21-59) shooting from the field. The difference in the game came at the charity stripe, where UNLV converted 16 of 25 attempts while the Gophers were just two-of-seven.
Spencer Tollackson had a team-high 13 points and Jamal Abu-Shamala knocked down a season-high four three pointers for 12 points. Jonathan Williams contributed four points, nine rebounds and three assists off the bench. The Gophers out-rebounded the Runnin’ Rebels 29-26 on the night.
Tollackson hit an eight-footer as the first half horn sounded to send Minnesota into the locker room with a 29-28 lead, but UNLV used a 14-5 run in the middle of the second half to take a 59-49 lead before the Gophers' late charge.
The Gophers return to action on Saturday, Dec. 30 when they host Southeast Louisiana at Williams Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Minnesota will open Big Ten play at home against Purdue on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.
