University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers beat Cavaliers, Move to 7-0
12/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Paced by a balanced scoring attack and tenacious defense, the Minnesota men’s basketball team defeated Virginia 66-56 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Tuesday night at Williams Arena.
Three players scored in double figures for the Gophers, who are off to their first 7-0 start since the 1976-77 season. Freshman center Colton Iverson went 5-of-6 from the field and finished with a team-high 14 points and seven rebounds. Minnesota’s leading scorer, Lawrence Westbrook, scored 13 points. Sophomore guard Blake Hoffarber connected on four three-pointers and chipped in with 12 points.
But it was the Gophers persistent ball-line defense which forced 19 turnovers lead to 20 points that made sure Minnesota would beat its ACC counterpart in front of an announced crowd of 12,424 at The Barn.
“It’s a good win for us against a quality team," head coach Tubby Smith said. "It’s huge because we want to hold up our end of the bargain in (The Big Ten/ACC Challenge). It’s a matchup between premier conferences in the country. This is one which helps us understand we can play with those teams at that level."
Out of the gate, Minnesota playing its first opponent of the season from a major collegiate conference found itself in a hole, down 16-11 midway through the first stanza following a dunk by Virginia’s Mamadi Diane.
But a thunderous rejection by junior forward Damian Johnson on Virginia’s next offensive possession, sparked the Gophers on a 15-2 run that put Minnesota ahead 26-18. On the run, in which the Gophers held the Cavaliers without a field goal for over four minutes, Iverson scored five-straight points, including a thunderous put-back dunk to cap the rally.
Virginia quickly got back into the game, going on a 9-2 run of their own to cut Minnesota’s advantage to 28-27. However, a layup by junior guard Devron Bostick sent the Gophers into the locker room with a 32-29 lead.
The Cavaliers cut Minnesota’s lead to one seconds into the second stanza, but that would be as close as they would come. The Gophers responded with an 11-2 run to stretch their lead to 10 with 15:31 remaining in the half. Johnson, who had three steals and three blocks on the night, brought those looking on at “The Barn” to their feet with a dazzling, spinning layup out of transition to put Minnesota up 43-33 and forcing a timeout by Cavaliers’ head coach Dave Leitao.
Two free throws by Westbrook gave the Gophers their biggest advantage of the night a 12-point lead - but two-straight three-pointers by Jamil Tucker and a layup by Calvin Baker helped cut Minnesota’s lead to 48-44 with under 10 minutes left in regulation.
But the Gophers, like they did all night, had answer for the Calaviers’ surge.
Hoffarber came in and drilled his fourth three of the night, sparking Minnesota on a 7-0 run to regain momentum of the game. The highlight of Minnesota’s game-winning run came when sophomore point guard Al Nolen forced a Virginia turnover and went coast-to-coast for a one-handed dunk. Looking like an NFL cornerback, Nolen who finished with five steals - intercepted a Virginia pass from the post and went the length of the court for the flush, putting the Maroon and Gold up 55-44 with under eight minutes remaining.
From there, Virginia would get no closer than six as Minnesota sank four free throws in the final minute of regulation to secure the victory.
