University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, January 27
University Park, PA
5:30 PM
University of Minnesota
13-7,4-5Big Ten
83
at
74
Penn State
9-11,3-6Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 31 | 52 | 83 |
| Penn St. | 45 | 29 | 74 |
Team Stats
MINN
PSU
FG%
.538
.452
3FG%
.286
.263
FT%
.885
.722
RB
33
28
TO
12
7
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Rally for Win at Penn State
1/27/2024 8:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Dawson Garcia scored a game-high 22 points and Cam Christie had 17 points and a career-high eight rebounds, as Minnesota (13-7, 4-5 Big Ten) rallied from a 16-point second half deficit and snapped its four-game losing streak with an 83-74 win at Penn State. It was Minnesota's first win over Penn State since 2022 and first time at Penn State since 2018.Â
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Garcia scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, and Christie tallied 13 points after the break, as the Gophers outscored the Nittany Lions (9-11, 3-6 B1G) 52-29 in the second half after trailing 45-31 at halftime. Three other Gophers players scored in double-figures, as Joshua Ola-Joseph finished with 14 points and five rebounds, Parker Fox had 11 points and a season-high four blocked shots, and Mike Mitchell Jr. added 11 points. Elijah Hawkins finished with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists.
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Minnesota built a 16-10 lead at the 13:10 mark by making 6-of-11 field goals to start the game, with five different players scoring for the Gophers. Fox scored five points to help the Gophers build a 24-18 lead with 8:44 remaining in the half, but Penn State responded with a 22-2 run to take a 40-26 lead with 2:50 left. A three-point play by Ola-Joseph ended a four-minute, 43-second drought for the Gophers, but Minnesota trailed 45-31 at the break. Garcia, Ola-Joseph, and Fox led Minnesota with seven points apiece. The Gophers made 11-of-23 (.478) first-half field goals and 8-of-10 free throws, but were just 1-of-7 (.143) from three-point range.
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The Nittany Lions opened the scoring in the second half to take a 16-point lead, but the Gophers responded by hitting four consecutive field goals, including three-pointers from Hawkins and Christie to trim the deficit to 47-41. A pair of free throws by Garcia extended the Gophers' run to 12-0, and after PSU ended its drought, Garcia knocked down a three-pointer from the left win to pull Minnesota within 49-46. Ola-Joseph cut the lead to 49-48 with a pair of foul shots, and Christie did the same to keep the Gophers within 51-50 with 15:21 remaining.
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Minnesota then recaptured the lead with a 6-1 run, highlighted by a breakaway dunk by Ola-Joseph. Leading 58-56, Christie added back-to-back layups to extend the lead to 62-56, and a Garcia layup made it 64-58. Mitchell Jr. scored on a layup to give the Gophers their largest lead of the game at 66-59, and a Fox layup made it 68-61 at the 6:16 mark, but a 5-0 PSU run trimmed Minnesota's advantage to two points. The Nittany Lions tied the score at 70-70 with 2:56 left, but Fox took a feed from Mitchell Jr. and threw down a baseline dunk to put the Gophers back up 72-70 with 2:18 remaining. Penn State added a free throw, but Garcia scored on a driving layup and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Ola-Joseph leapt to grab the offensive rebound and ducked under a Nittany Lion defender to score on a layup while being fouled and converted the free throw to give Minnesota a 77-71 lead with 1:03 on the clock. The Gophers made 6-of-6 free throws in the final minute and recorded the impressive comeback victory on the road.
Minnesota plays again on Feb. 3 when it hosts Northwestern at 1 p.m., on Big Ten Network.Â
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Garcia scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, and Christie tallied 13 points after the break, as the Gophers outscored the Nittany Lions (9-11, 3-6 B1G) 52-29 in the second half after trailing 45-31 at halftime. Three other Gophers players scored in double-figures, as Joshua Ola-Joseph finished with 14 points and five rebounds, Parker Fox had 11 points and a season-high four blocked shots, and Mike Mitchell Jr. added 11 points. Elijah Hawkins finished with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists.
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Minnesota built a 16-10 lead at the 13:10 mark by making 6-of-11 field goals to start the game, with five different players scoring for the Gophers. Fox scored five points to help the Gophers build a 24-18 lead with 8:44 remaining in the half, but Penn State responded with a 22-2 run to take a 40-26 lead with 2:50 left. A three-point play by Ola-Joseph ended a four-minute, 43-second drought for the Gophers, but Minnesota trailed 45-31 at the break. Garcia, Ola-Joseph, and Fox led Minnesota with seven points apiece. The Gophers made 11-of-23 (.478) first-half field goals and 8-of-10 free throws, but were just 1-of-7 (.143) from three-point range.
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The Nittany Lions opened the scoring in the second half to take a 16-point lead, but the Gophers responded by hitting four consecutive field goals, including three-pointers from Hawkins and Christie to trim the deficit to 47-41. A pair of free throws by Garcia extended the Gophers' run to 12-0, and after PSU ended its drought, Garcia knocked down a three-pointer from the left win to pull Minnesota within 49-46. Ola-Joseph cut the lead to 49-48 with a pair of foul shots, and Christie did the same to keep the Gophers within 51-50 with 15:21 remaining.
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Minnesota then recaptured the lead with a 6-1 run, highlighted by a breakaway dunk by Ola-Joseph. Leading 58-56, Christie added back-to-back layups to extend the lead to 62-56, and a Garcia layup made it 64-58. Mitchell Jr. scored on a layup to give the Gophers their largest lead of the game at 66-59, and a Fox layup made it 68-61 at the 6:16 mark, but a 5-0 PSU run trimmed Minnesota's advantage to two points. The Nittany Lions tied the score at 70-70 with 2:56 left, but Fox took a feed from Mitchell Jr. and threw down a baseline dunk to put the Gophers back up 72-70 with 2:18 remaining. Penn State added a free throw, but Garcia scored on a driving layup and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Ola-Joseph leapt to grab the offensive rebound and ducked under a Nittany Lion defender to score on a layup while being fouled and converted the free throw to give Minnesota a 77-71 lead with 1:03 on the clock. The Gophers made 6-of-6 free throws in the final minute and recorded the impressive comeback victory on the road.
Minnesota plays again on Feb. 3 when it hosts Northwestern at 1 p.m., on Big Ten Network.Â
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