University of Minnesota Athletics
Hoffarber Shoots Gophers Past Ohio State
1/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Another hot shooting game from Blake Hoffarber keyed a big Minnesota second half as the Gophers downed Ohio State 73-62 on Saturday at Williams Arena.
Hoffarber finished with a career-high 27 points, including 22 in the second half as the Gophers rallied from a one-point halftime deficit to improve to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. Hoffarber drained seven three-pointers and was six-for-seven from behind the arc in the second half, hitting his first six three-point attempts after halftime. For the game, he finished seven-for-nine on three pointers. It marked the fourth time in the last eight games that Hoffarber has scored at least 20 points and hit at least five three-pointers.
Lawrence Westbrook also had a big day for the Gophers with 15 points as he and Hoffarber combined for 32 of the Gophers' 41 second half points. The duo combined for 20 of the Gophers' points during a decisive 23-4 run during the second half.
The victory also continued Minnesota's stellar play at Williams Arena as the Gophers moved to 10-0 at home, winning by an average margin of 27.8 points. Ohio State dropped to 11-5 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten with the loss.
The first half saw seven lead changes and Ohio State hold the biggest lead of the half at 31-25 with 2:31 remaining. Ohio State led for much of the final 10 minutes of the first half, however, Minnesota closed the period with a 7-2 run to trail 33-32 at halftime.
Ohio State scored a pair of early baskets in the second half to take a 37-34 lead with 18:32 remaining, but Minnesota and Hoffarber took over from that point. Hoffarber drained a three to tie the game at 37-37 with 17:48 left and Al Nolen hit a three-pointer from the top of the key following two offensive rebounds to give the Gophers the lead for good as they went on a 14-1 run to lead 48-38 with 13:42 remaining.
In all, the run was part of a 23-4 Gophers' surge as Ohio State was 1-for-10 from the field with five turnovers during the span until William Buford finally ended the Buckeyes' drought with a breakaway dunk with 9:50 remaining. During the Gophers' run, Hoffarber hit four three-pointers and a pair of free throws, while Westbrook hit two free throws and back-to-back layups after Ohio State had cut the lead to 48-41.
Buckeyes' All-America candidate Evan Turner, playing his second game after returning from injury, scored eight consecutive Ohio State points as the Buckeyes pulled to within 62-51 with 7:11 left. A basket by David Lighty cut the Gophers' lead to 62-53 with 5:15 left, but Hoffarber followed with his seventh three-pointer. The Buckeyes came no closer until the final minute when they used a 7-1 run to cut the lead to 71-62 with 32 seconds left.
Turner led the Buckeyes with 19 points, scoring 15 points in the second half. Buford contributed 17 points and Lighty had 15 points.
Minnesota had four players in double figures with Nolen scoring 11 points and Damian Johnson tallying 10 points in addition to Hoffarber and Westbrook's totals. Nolen added seven assists and four steals.
Ohio State shot 45.5 percent for the game, but just 38.7 percent in the second half after hitting 54.2 percent of its shots before halftime. The Gophers, meanwhile, finished at 45.5 percent from the field. They shot 52.4 in the second half after 39.1 percent shooting in the first half. Minnesota was also 11-for-23 from three-point range.
The Gophers had assists on 18 of their 20 field goals and each team finished the game with 17 turnovers.
Minnesota plays its next game on Wednesday at Michigan State at 5:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
