University of Minnesota Athletics
Coleman Leads Minnesota To 83-66 Win Over Kennesaw State
12/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota won its seventh straight game this evening with an 83-66 victory over Kennesaw State (2-10) at the Duel in the Desert at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Gophers improved to 10-1 for the first time since 2000-01 and already eclipsed their win total from a year ago. Dan Coleman led Minnesota with 24 points.
Minnesota shot better than 50 percent for the fourth time in the last five games, making 33-of-60 from the floor (55 percent). The Gophers owned a 37-28 rebounding edge and forced 21 Owl turnovers. Coleman had another strong game with 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting. The reigning Big Ten Player of the Week reached the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in the last five games. The senior is averaging 19.8 points a game over the last six contests.
Westbrook added a career-best 12 points and McKenzie chipped in 11 with four assists. Damian Johnson continued his trend of filling the stat sheets, posting six points, six boards, three blocks and a steal. Hoffarber added 10 points as well.
The Gophers started the game slowly, trailing 6-3 at the first media timeout. A three-pointer by Blake Hoffarber jump-started the Gopher offense at the 15:36 mark and Minnesota scored seven straight to lead 13-8. Kennesaw State managed to pull within three at 16-13. McKenzie hit consecutive three-pointers for the Gophers to give Minnesota a 24-15 edge. A layup by Jon Williams ended a 13-0 Gopher run that gave Minnesota a commanding 32-15 with just over five minutes left on the clock. Baskets by Coleman and McKenzie in the final minute left the Gophers with a 44-23 lead at the half. The Owls managed just 30 percent shooting in the opening half while Minnesota made 17-of-34 field goal attempts.
To start the second half, Minnesota extended its lead to 25 at 52-27 on a Westbrook fastbreak layup but Kennesaw State pulled back within 21 at 52-31. Six straight Gophers points capped by another Coleman hoop brought the Gophers’ lead to a game-high 27 at 58-31 with 14:40 remaining. Kennesaw State still had a few runs left in them, pulling with 16 at 66-50 on a Ronell Wooten three. Back-to-back threes by McKenzie and Westbrook kept the Gophers up by 19 and preserved the Minnesota victory. Both teams shot the ball well in the second half with Minnesota hitting 62 percent and Kennesaw State 52 percent.
Minnesota wraps up the Duel in the Desert tomorrow night against the host UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. The game stips at 6 p.m. CST and can be hear on the Gopher Radio Network.
Minnesota shot better than 50 percent for the fourth time in the last five games, making 33-of-60 from the floor (55 percent). The Gophers owned a 37-28 rebounding edge and forced 21 Owl turnovers. Coleman had another strong game with 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting. The reigning Big Ten Player of the Week reached the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in the last five games. The senior is averaging 19.8 points a game over the last six contests.
Westbrook added a career-best 12 points and McKenzie chipped in 11 with four assists. Damian Johnson continued his trend of filling the stat sheets, posting six points, six boards, three blocks and a steal. Hoffarber added 10 points as well.
The Gophers started the game slowly, trailing 6-3 at the first media timeout. A three-pointer by Blake Hoffarber jump-started the Gopher offense at the 15:36 mark and Minnesota scored seven straight to lead 13-8. Kennesaw State managed to pull within three at 16-13. McKenzie hit consecutive three-pointers for the Gophers to give Minnesota a 24-15 edge. A layup by Jon Williams ended a 13-0 Gopher run that gave Minnesota a commanding 32-15 with just over five minutes left on the clock. Baskets by Coleman and McKenzie in the final minute left the Gophers with a 44-23 lead at the half. The Owls managed just 30 percent shooting in the opening half while Minnesota made 17-of-34 field goal attempts.
To start the second half, Minnesota extended its lead to 25 at 52-27 on a Westbrook fastbreak layup but Kennesaw State pulled back within 21 at 52-31. Six straight Gophers points capped by another Coleman hoop brought the Gophers’ lead to a game-high 27 at 58-31 with 14:40 remaining. Kennesaw State still had a few runs left in them, pulling with 16 at 66-50 on a Ronell Wooten three. Back-to-back threes by McKenzie and Westbrook kept the Gophers up by 19 and preserved the Minnesota victory. Both teams shot the ball well in the second half with Minnesota hitting 62 percent and Kennesaw State 52 percent.
Minnesota wraps up the Duel in the Desert tomorrow night against the host UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. The game stips at 6 p.m. CST and can be hear on the Gopher Radio Network.
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