University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Dayton
Golden Gophers Fall Short Against Dayton, 86-70
11/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Golden Gophers suffered their first loss of the season as they fell 86-70 to Dayton in the Old Spice Classic championship game on Sunday night.
Kevin Dillard had 19 points, Chris Johnson added 18 and Dayton hit 12 3-pointers as the Flyers rode a hot-shooting performance .
The Flyers (5-1) connected on 12 of their 27 3-point attempts and shot 46 percent overall (28 of 60).
Minnesota (6-1) played the final 17 minutes without leading scorer and rebounder Trevor Mbakwe, who left the game after sustaining a right leg injury.
Without his defensive presence underneath, the Flyers exploited the middle of the floor both in their half-court sets and in transition.
The Golden Gophers tried to make up for Mbakwe's absence with its own outside shooting, but connected on only 7 of their 18 attempts.
Austin Hollins led the Golden Gophers with 14 points. Julian Welch chipped in 12 for Minnesota.
