University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Ohio State
Gophers Fall to Ohio State in OT, 74-72
1/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Gophers lost an overtime thriller to Ohio State, despite their second half comeback, 74-72 on Tuesday night.
Mo Walker had 18 points and nine rebounds, DeAndre Mathieu scored 17 points and Andre Hollins had all 12 of his points in the second half, but the Gophers (11-5, 0-3) weren't able to turn their comeback into a win.
Marc Loving's jump shot from the lane put Ohio State up two with 5.6 seconds left in OT.
Gophers coach Richard Pitino declined to call timeout, letting Mathieu bring the ball up. But he was swarmed in the backcourt, and Shannon Scott swatted away the desperation pass to deny the Gophers a clean shot. Joey King was yelling to Mathieu from the wing.
"If I would have got it to Joey, he would have had a nice look," Mathieu said. "Scott made a nice play."
D'Angelo Russell had 25 of his 27 points in the first half, missing all seven of his field-goal attempts after the break, but he made two critical free throws for Ohio State (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten) in the closing minutes. Loving added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Loving's tip-in lifted Ohio State to a 70-68 lead with 2:05 left in the extra period. Russell's foul shots after Elliott Eliason missed one of two on the other end put the Buckeyes up by three with 63 seconds remaining.
Mathieu threw the ball away on a backdoor bounce pass to Nate Mason, who never cut that way. But Russell turned it over, and Mason made a three-point play to tie it at 72 with 24 seconds left.
Mathieu answered with a layup and Thompson missed on the other end. After Joey King's 3-pointer was blocked, Mathieu chased down the loose ball he kept for the Gophers after a replay review by the officials with 42.7 seconds left. Mason was fouled on a drive, and he made one of two free throws to tie the game again.
Amir Williams had a short shot to win it in the closing seconds of regulation, but it glanced off the front rim. Russell didn't attempt a shot in the second half until almost halfway through, and his baseline try hit the side of the backboard.
The Gophers made four straight free throws to seal a 21-9 spurt and tie it at 60 with 7:03 left.
The Gophers wore their rarely used black uniforms, and the school organized an all-black look for the arena with special T-shirts for the student section. Most of the rest of the fans complied with their own garb, too, but the color wasn't going to influence the advantage the Gophers have here. It's all about the noise in this 87-year-old building with the famously raised floor and the barn-shaped roof.
The place was buzzing at the beginning, with a bunch of former Gophers and a few current Timberwolves players including Andrew Wiggins in attendance. Russell swished three 3-pointers during an early 15-2 run by Ohio State, but Minnesota recovered with an establishment of the low post by Walker and Eliason. Eliason dropped in a dunk from the baseline to tie it at 21, and the arena was roaring.
"I liked their effort. I'm still positive that we're headed in the right direction. It's disappointing certainly, but we've just got to rebound and stay positive," Pitino said.
Minnesota looks to rebound when they travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan on Saturday.
