University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Dominate Eagles, Improve to 5-0
11/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Behind a career-high 20 points from freshman center Colton Iverson, the Minnesota men’s basketball team beat Eastern Washington 88-67 Wednesday night at Williams Arena.
In total, five players scored in double figures to lead Minnesota to its first 5-0 start since the 1999-2000 season.
Sophomore shooting guard Blake Hoffarber, starting in place of injured guard Lawrence Westbrook, scored 12 points. Senior forward Jamal Abu-Shamala, junior forward Damian Johnson and junior guard Devron Bostick all chipped in with 11 points, respectively.
Benny Valentine, the reigning Big Sky Player of the Week, hit five three-pointers and led the Eagles with 29 points. It was another career day by Iverson which set the tone for the Gophers against Eastern Washington.
Just 11 days ago, the true freshman set a career-high with nine blocks in Minnesota’s win over Bowling Green. On Thanksgiving eve, the big man had set a career-high in scoring by halftime (14 points in the first 20 minutes of play) and finished the night shooting 10-of-13 from the field, while also adding five rebounds, four assists and a block.
The Eagles momentarily took a lead at the Barn, 8-7. But once Iverson got on an offensive role, Minnesota started to distance itself from Eastern Washington.
The Yankton, South Dakota native scored eight-straight points minutes into the first half, sparking Minnesota on a 17-3 run that put the Gophers ahead 24-11. The Eagles pulled to within seven midway through the half, but another 9-0 run, capped off by an Iverson layup, put the Gophers ahead 38-22.
The Gophers, who hit five three-points in the first half after missing their first four attempts, lead by as many as 21 in the first half. And, after shooting 63 percent from the field and 18 bench points in the first stanza, the Maroon and Gold owned a 47-29 halftime lead.
One may have thought that the Eagles playing their fourth game in eight nights would run out of gas in the second half. That, however, was not the case. Eastern Washington came out of the locker room energized, hitting 7-of-9 shots and dwindled Minnesota’s lead to 12 moments into the final half of play.
Led by the gutsy play of Valentine, the Eagles eventually cut Minnesota’s lead to 65-55 with nine minutes left in regulation. But as quickly as the momentum had turned in Eastern Washington’s favor to start the second stanza, it reversed back in the direction of the Gophers.
Minnesota responded to the Eagles' run with a 12-0 run of its own, propelling the Gophers lead to 22 with under six minutes remaining in regulation and ending Eastern Washington’s comeback bid.
Noteworthy
Westbrook, Minnesota’s leading scored entering Wednesday’s contest, sat the game out with a shin injury. He is expected back to practice later in the week.
Sophomore forward Paul Carter left the game in the second half with an ankle injury.
