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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Highlights: Gophers 80, NDSU 54
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