University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers bounce back with 92-72 win at Northwestern
2/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Gophers bounced back from a rough portion of their Big Ten schedule with a big 92-72 win over Northwestern on Wednesday night in
Spencer Tollackson paced the Gophers with 19 points that included a perfect 7 for 7 shooting performance and a 5 for 5 showing from the free throw line.
Lawrence Westbrook collected his first career double-double as the sophomore dished out 10 assists and chipped in 12 points. Jamal Abu-Shamala's 16 points on the strength of 4 for 6 shooting from beyond the three-point arc were a season-high.
Lawrence McKenzie (16 points), Blake Hoffarber (15 points) and Dan Coleman (10 points) were also in double figures.
The Gophers raced to a 6-0 lead on a Hoffarber 3-pointer and Tollackson's three-point play on
Northwestern responded with a run that gave the Wildcats leads of 15-13 and 18-16 midway through the opening half.
The Gophers tied the Cats with a Coleman layup with 10:31 to play in the half and took the lead for good on the following possession after Tollackson converted on a pair of free throws.
Although Northwestern kept the contest close for most of the first half, the Gophers finished the opening stanza 13-2 run over the last 2:08.
Following the halftime break, the Gophers kept the pedal to the floor and parlayed their first half momentum to push the lead to 20 points before the second half was four minutes old.
On the strength of hot shooting from forward Kevin Coble, along with guards Craig Moore and Michael Thompson, Northwestern was able to keep the game interesting for the majority of the second half. Coble finished with a game-high 22 points while Moore and Thompson tallied 19 apiece.
The Gophers put the game out of reach on the strength of 16 for 27 (59.3%) shooting from the floor.
A 12 for 23 (52.2%) team shooting performance from beyond the three point arc was the second best for the Gophers this season.
Center Jon Williams missed this evening's contest due to illness. Wednesday was the first game Williams has missed this season.
GAME NOTES
Minnesota had six players score in double figures for the first time since December 2, 1991 against Youngstown State.
Minnesota's 92 points is the most in a road contest since notching 93 at Michigan on February 17, 2001 (93-75 win).
The 92 points are the most in a Big Ten game since scoring 94 in a 94-70 win over Penn State on January 30, 2002 at Williams Arena.
Minnesota has won three road Big Ten contests for the first time since 2004-05. The Gophers have won consecutive road games for the first time since 2004-05 (2/26/05 at Purdue and 3/2/05 at Penn State).
The Gophers have won the last three meetings with Northwestern. The Gophers swept the season series with the Wildcats for the first time since 2003. Minnesota has also won consecutive games at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the first time since 2/8/92 and 2/24/93.
The 92 points is the most against Northwestern since tallying 92 in a 92-50 win at Williams Arena on 1/29/92. It's tied for the fourth-highest point total ever scored against the Wildcats in the 141 games in the series. Minnesota leads the all-time series 85-56.
Minnesota's 20-point margin of victory is the largest in a conference game since defeating Penn State 83-62 on January 8, 2005 (span of 55 games).
The 92 points is a season-high and the most since scoring 94 against UNC Greensboro on 12/29/04 (span of 104 games).
Minnesota utilized its sixth different starting lineup of the season as Blake Hoffarber earned his first career start.
Lawrence Westbrook became the first Gopher to record double-digit assists on the season and he recorded his first career double-double. The last Gopher to have a double-double of points and assists was Lawrence McKenzie on February 18. 2007.
His double-double is the third for Minnesota this season (Dan Coleman -2).
Westbrook is one of only six players to ever record double figure assists in a conference game, joining Arriel McDonald (four times), Melvin Newbern, Ray Williams, Adam Boone and Lawrence McKenzie.
Westbrook scored in double figures for the third straight game (longest in his career) and the 11th time in his career.
With 10 points, Dan Coleman surpassed the 1,200-point mark and has 1,209 for his career.
Coleman reached double figures for the 15th time this season and the 63rd time in his career.
Jamal Abu-Shamala scored a season-high 16 points and reached double figures for the 15th time in his career.
Hoffarber scored in double figures for the 10th time this season.
McKenzie reached double figures for the 15th time this season and the 67th time in his career. He attempted his 1,000th career field goal in the first half.
Tollackson scored in double figures for the 11th time this season and the 36th time in his career.
