University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Rally, Defeat Badgers 51-46 at Williams
3/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Lawrence Westbrook did it again.
Westbrook, who scored a season-high 29 points to lead Minnesota to an improbable come-from-behind win in Madison on January 15th, led the Gophers on a 10-0 run over the final two minutes of regulation, propelling the Maroon and Gold to a 51-46 win over Wisconsin Wednesday night at Williams Arena.
Trailing by five with under two minutes remaining, Minnesota buckled down on defense holding the Badgers scoreless for the remainder of regulation and Westbrook hit two baskets and drilled six-straight free throws in the final 1:53 of the game to help the Gophers desperate for a win to pad their NCAA Tournament resume improve to 21-8 overall and 9-8 in the Big Ten.
Westbrook scored all 15 of his team-high points in the final nine minutes of regulation. Damian Johnson added 11 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Gophers. Colton Iverson notched eight points in the win.
Marcus Landry paced the Badgers with a game-high 18 points. Jon Leuer and Trevon Hughes added 11 and 10, respectively for Bo Ryan’s squad. The Badgers are now 18-11 overall and 9-8 in conference play.
With the win, the Gophers swept the regular series with the Badgers for the first time since the 1991-1992 season.
“It feels good because since I was a freshman they’ve been killing us,” Westbrook said of Minnesota’s border rival. “To sweep them is really big.”
After leading by seven at halftime and six early in the second half, Minnesota found itself down 46-41 after a free throw by Hughes with 2:37 to play.
But Minnesota refused to lose.
Back-to-back baskets by Westbrook pulled the Gophers within one, 46-45, with 1:07 to play. Minnesota held the Badgers on their next offensive possession and Westbrook forced a foul, made two free throws, and put the Maroon and Gold ahead 47-46 with 29 seconds to play. The Gophers again held forcing missed three’s by Landry and Hughes with time winding down - and Westbrook hit two more free throws to put Minnesota up 49-46.
With three seconds to go, Hughes couldn’t craddle a bad pass from Tim Jarmusz and Westbrook hit two more free throws to seal the victory.
Coach Tubby Smith, in an attempt to mix things up, began the game by replacing his usual backcourt starters Westbrook and Al Nolen with freshman guard Devoe Joseph and sophomore guard Blake Hoffarber.
The moves paid dividends early.
Joseph hit a jumper on Minnesota’s first possession of the game and the Gophers jumped out to a six-point lead, 13-7, nine and a half minutes into the contest.
Moments later, Minnesota found an offensive groove, going on an 8-1 run to jump out to a 21-10 lead following a hook shot by Iverson.
Two three-pointers by Landry helped the Badgers cut into Minnesota’s double-digit lead, but when the senior forward missed a deep shot from long distance right before the halftime buzzer, the Gophers who forced eight first-half turnovers by the Badgers - owned a 23-16 lead heading into the locker room.
The 16 points Minnesota held the Badgers to in the first half ties an opponent season- low for a half. The Gophers led 22-15 at halftime against Illinois on January 19th.
Out of the locker room, the Badgers quickly got back into the game. As Minnesota went without a field goal for the first 3:22 of the second stanza, the Badgers ran off five-straight points and pulled to within two, 23-21, with 17:10 left.
Later, six-straight points by Landry put Wisconsin ahead 41-38.
Wisconsin’s lead ballooned to five but Minnesota remained poised and came away with the victory.
“We haven’t really handled late game situations well. But those were all on the road. Here tonight we showed a lot of poise.” Smith said. “When you keep coaching and keep teaching, you expect guys to mature this time of year. I thought our guys showed that type of courage in a game we needed.”
Noteworthy:
Minnesota shot 41.3 percent (19-of-46). Meanwhile, the Badgers shot 33.3 percent (15-of-45).
