University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Fall To Longhorns In Greensboro
3/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The University of Minnesota men's basketball team fell to Texas 76-62 Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.
The 10th-seeded Gophers, back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2005, couldn’t contain Longhorns' guard A.J. Abrams, which eventually led to the downfall of the Maroon and Gold.
Abrams hit eight three-pointers - including four-straight to break the game open midway through the second half - and finished with a game-high 26 points to lead seventh-seeded Texas (23-11 overall) to victory. Damion James and Dexter Pittman added 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Lawrence Westbrook paced the Gophers with 19 points. Damian Johnson scored 13 points and Paul Carter grabbed seven rebounds for Minnesota, which ends its season at 22-11 overall.
Three-point shooting decided Thursday’s outcome.
Westbrook hit a three to start the game for the Gophers, which propelled Minnesota on a 13-3 run to start the game. But the Gophers would hit just three more from beyond the arc after that, finishing the contest 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) from downtown.
Meanwhile, the Longhorns were scorching from distance all night long. Paced by eight three’s from Abrams, Texas connected on 11-of-20 three-pointers (55 percent). For the game, Minnesota shot 40.7 percent from the field, while the Longhorns shot 47.4 percent.
Westbrook scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the first half as Minnesota jumped out to leads of 7-0 and 13-3.
After the Longhorns rallied to take the lead late in the first stanza, a free throw by Westbrook put Minnesota up 29-28 with four minutes to play in the half.
But that would be Minnesota’s final lead of the game.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Blake Hoffarber and Westbrook in the final minute of the half pulled the Gophers to within one, 36-35, with time winding down in the half. But Abrams hit a three of his own right before the halftime buzzer sounded to give Texas a 39-35 lead heading into the locker room.
The Longhorns opened up an eight-point lead moments into the second half following another three by Abrams.
To their credit, the Gophers pulled to within three, 47-44, following a layup by Westbrook with 14:53 to go in regulation and Minnesota looked set to continue its comeback.
Abrams, however, had other plans.
The senior guard responded to the Gophers’ run by hitting four-straight three’s in a two-minute span, helping Texas to a 59-44 advantage with 11 minutes left.
From there, Minnesota’s offense went stagnant down the stretch and the Longhorns built a 16-point lead before exiting the Gophers from the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
