University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers defeat Northern St. in Exhibition Finale
11/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Looking like a team ready to start the regular season, the Minnesota men’s basketball team defeated Division II Northern State 92-62 Thursday night at Williams Arena.
Four players scored in double figures for the Gophers, who quickly transformed their final exhibition tune-up from a back-and-forth contest into a blowout victory. Junior guard Lawrence Westbrook, Minnesota’s returning leading scorer from a year ago, paced the Gophers with 19 points. Junior forward Paul Cater chipped in with 17 points and seven rebounds. Freshmen Devoe Joseph and Ralph Sampson added 14 and 12, respectively.
Three days after surrendering 80 points to St. Cloud State, it was Minnesota’s pressure defense that propelled the Gophers to an undefeated preseason record (2-0). The Gophers held the Wolves to 39.2 percent shooting from the field and scored 28 points off 23 Northern State turnovers factors that helped the maroon and gold pull away from the Wolves over the final 30 minutes of play.
“I think Monday (against St. Cloud State) everybody was nervous. We had to get the jitters out,” sophomore point guard Al Nolen said. “I think we did a better job this game of really getting at them (defensively) ... We were playing Tubby-ball. It felt good.”
For the second straight exhibition game, the Gophers found out early that their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponent wouldn’t go down easily. As was the case Monday night against St. Cloud State, Minnesota started Thursday night’s contest exchanging baskets with Northern State.
Thanks in large part to preseason All-American Kevin Ratzsch, the Wolves stuck right with Minnesota to start the opening stanza of play. Ratzsch, who finished with a team-high 20 points, scored 11 of Northern State’s first 17 points as Northern State jumped out to a 17-15 lead nine minutes into the contest.
But the Wolves’ advantage was short lived.
Playing Tubby Smith’s patented ball-line defense to near perfection, Minnesota began to stifle Northern State’s offense and built a double-digit lead in the process. During the final 9:29 of the first half, the Gophers forced nine Wolves turnovers and held Northern State scoreless for a stretch of 5:08 helping Minnesota finish the half on a 25-10 run and take a 40-27 lead into the locker room .
The highlight of the run came when Nolen stole the ball away from Ratzsch at the top of the key, maintained his dribble despite falling to the floor as an array of Wolves defenders attempted to strip the ball from him near midcourt, and found Cater for an uncontested dunk.
“Al always does the right thing with the ball,” Carter said. “I know when he’s driving I can get a dunk anytime. I just need to be in the right place at the right time.”
But those were just two of 28 points off turnovers for the Gophers.
As the number of turnovers Minnesota forced increased, so too did its lead.
The Gophers forced 11 more turnovers in the second half and lengthened their advantage accordingly. Up 13 at the break, Minnesota more than doubled its lead with a balanced scoring attack in the final 20 minutes of play. Seven players, including Joseph, scored for the Gophers in the second half.
Joseph, heralded as one of the best scoring threats to come out of Canada in recent years, looked every bit the part in the games’ final moments. Joseph scored all 14 of his points in the final six minutes of play, finishing the night with a layup that built Minnesota’s lead up to 30 at the end of regulation.
“You saw what Devoe can do when he is relaxed, shooting the ball,” Smith said. “He settled down and played a lot better in the second half.”
The Gophers open the 2008-09 regular season with three games in three nights when they host the NABC Classic starting Friday Nov. 14 at Williams Arena. Minnesota plays Concordia-St. Paul at 8 p.m. Friday, challenges Bowling Green at 8 p.m. Saturday Nov. 15, and concludes the three-game stretch
by facing Georgia State Sunday Nov. 16 at 6 p.m.
Noteworthy
Senior center Jonathan Williams sat out Thursday night’s game with a groin strain.
Minnesota shot 55.9 percent from the field (33-59).
The Gophers connected on 20 of 26 field goals in the paint.
