University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Can't Hold Off #6 MSU, Fall 65-64
1/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minnesota led for all but the final 1:27 versus #6/7 Michigan State on Saturday, but a three-pointer by Kalin Lucas gave the Spartans their first lead late in the game, and a final drive by Lawrence Westbrook came up short in a heartbreaking 65-64 loss for the Gophers on Saturday at Williams Arena.
The Gophers got off to a fast start, with Joseph and Westbrook each making early three-pointers to put the Gophers up, 6-0, at the outset. Minnesota played great defense early, holding MSU scoreless for the first 5:03 in building an 8-0 advantage. But the Spartans rallied to cut the lead to one point, 16-15, on a fastbreak dunk by Durrell Summers at the 8:37 mark.
Minnesota (12-7, 3-4 Big Ten) kept the lead by going on an 8-2 run over the next 1:24, with Joseph making a trey, Ralph Sampson III scoring inside, and Blake Hoffarber hitting a three-pointer to fire up the sellout crowd of 14,625 at the Barn. Then, after the Spartans cut Minnesota's advantage to four points, 26-22, the Gophers closed the half on another 8-4 run, keyed by back-to-back field goals for Sampson, to go to the lockerroom with a 34-26 lead.
The Gophers opened the second half on yet another run, with Westbrook making a three-pointer, followed by a Damian Johnson jumper, to give Minnesota its largest lead, 39-26, at the 18:49 mark. After an MSU field goal by Raymar Morgan, Westbrook made a pair of free throws with 17:50 remaining, giving the senior from Chandler, Ariz., 1,000 career points. Westbrook is the 35th player at Minnesota to reach that scoring plateau, and the first since Dan Coleman eclipsed the mark during 2008.
The lead was still 11 points for the Gophers, 53-42, following a dunk by Paul Carter with 10:53 left, but the Spartans began to chip away, and took their first lead on Lucas' clutch trey from the top of the key with 1:27 left.
Joseph, who made just his third start of the season, finished with 16 points and a career-high seven assists for Minnesota, while Westbrook also finished with 16 points in the loss, giving him 1,006 for his career. Sampson scored eight points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while Johnson finished with eight points, five blocks, and three steals.
The loss was the first at Williams Arena this season for the Gophers, who fell to 11-2 this season, and 45-4 under Tubby Smith, when holding a halftime lead.
The Spartans (17-3, 7-0 Big Ten) were led by Lucas' 22 points, while Morgan added 17 points and six boards.
Minnesota will now prepare for Northwestern, which comes to the Twin Cities for a Tuesday night game, beginning at 8:00 p.m. That game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
