University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, February 15
West Lafayette, IN
7:30 PM
University of Minnesota
15-9,6-7Big Ten
76
at
84
Purdue
23-2,12-2Big Ten
1
2
F
Minnesota
43
33
76
Purdue
35
49
84
Team Stats
MINN
Purdue
FG%
.441
.475
3FG%
.480
.474
FT%
.750
.594
RB
27
44
TO
5
10
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Kelly Hagenson
Gophers Fall in Hard-Fought Battle at No. 2 Purdue
2/15/2024 10:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Dawson Garcia scored a game-high 24 points, and Minnesota (15-9, 6-7 Big Ten) led No. 2/2 Purdue (23-2, 12-2 B1G) by 10 points early in the second half, but the Boilermakers rallied for an 84-76 win at Mackey Arena.
Garcia made 7-of-12 field goals, including 3-of-5 from long-range, while going 7-of-8 at the free throw line for his eighth game with 20 or more points this season. Mike Mitchell Jr. finished with 14 points, making 4-of-8 three-pointers, while Cam Christie was 3-of-5 from long-range to finish with 13 points. Pharrel Payne had eight points and a team-high five rebounds, Elijah Hawkins had five points and a team-high seven assists, and Parker Fox came off the bench for five points and four rebounds.
Purdue jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but a jumper by Christie and a corner three-pointer by Mitchell Jr. pulled the Gophers within 10-5. The Boilers built a 16-5 by the first media timeout, but Christie hit a three from the top of the key and Garcia's three-point play cut the deficit to 16-11. Garcia's play drew the second foul on All-American Zach Edey, sending him to the bench early. Purdue stretched the lead back to 19-11, but Mitchell Jr.'s second three-pointer of the half capped a 6-2 Gophers run to get within 21-17 with 10:17 left. A putback layup by Fox kept Minnesota within 24-19, and Christie's second trey of the game cut it to 25-22. The Boilers went on a 5-0 run to expand the lead back to 30-22, but Minnesota responded with an 11-0 run that included three-pointers from Christie, Mitchell Jr., and Garcia to give the Gophers their first lead at 33-30 and force a Purdue timeout with 3:55 left in the half. An alley-oop dunk from Hawkins to Joshua Ola-Joseph after the timeout put Minnesota up 35-30, and treys by Braeden Carrington and Mitchell Jr. pushed the lead to 41-33 and forced another timeout from Purdue head coach Matt Painter. With Garcia on the bench, Jack Wilson's layup closed the first-half scoring and sent the Gophers to the locker room with a 43-35 lead. Mitchell Jr. had 12 points at the break on 4-of-6 three-pointers, and Christie had 11 points on 3-of-3 treys. The Gophers were 9-of-16 (.563) from behind the arc as a team in the first 20 minutes.
Payne opened the second half with a layup to give the Gophers their largest lead at 45-35, but Purdue fought back with an 8-0 run to pull within two points. Another Payne layup and a pair of free throws by Mitchell Jr. stretched the lead back to 49-43. Garcia answered a Purdue trey with his second of the night and Christie knocked down a jumper from just inside the line to keep the Gophers ahead 54-48, but the Boilers went on a 15-1 run to reclaim a 63-55 lead with 10:40 left. Garcia scored on a layup and then added a three-point play to pull Minnesota within 64-60. A 6-0 Purdue run expanded the lead back to 70-60, but Garcia scored seven points during an 11-3 run to pull Minnesota back within two points at 73-71 with 4:16 remaining. Once again, the Boilers used a 6-0 run to expand the lead to 79-71 before Hawkins drained a three to make it a five-point game at 79-74 with 1:55 left. But Purdue closed out the comeback win.
Minnesota returns home to play host to Rutgers on Sunday, with tipoff at Williams Arena set for 5:30 p.m. CDT on Big Ten Network.
Garcia made 7-of-12 field goals, including 3-of-5 from long-range, while going 7-of-8 at the free throw line for his eighth game with 20 or more points this season. Mike Mitchell Jr. finished with 14 points, making 4-of-8 three-pointers, while Cam Christie was 3-of-5 from long-range to finish with 13 points. Pharrel Payne had eight points and a team-high five rebounds, Elijah Hawkins had five points and a team-high seven assists, and Parker Fox came off the bench for five points and four rebounds.
Purdue jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but a jumper by Christie and a corner three-pointer by Mitchell Jr. pulled the Gophers within 10-5. The Boilers built a 16-5 by the first media timeout, but Christie hit a three from the top of the key and Garcia's three-point play cut the deficit to 16-11. Garcia's play drew the second foul on All-American Zach Edey, sending him to the bench early. Purdue stretched the lead back to 19-11, but Mitchell Jr.'s second three-pointer of the half capped a 6-2 Gophers run to get within 21-17 with 10:17 left. A putback layup by Fox kept Minnesota within 24-19, and Christie's second trey of the game cut it to 25-22. The Boilers went on a 5-0 run to expand the lead back to 30-22, but Minnesota responded with an 11-0 run that included three-pointers from Christie, Mitchell Jr., and Garcia to give the Gophers their first lead at 33-30 and force a Purdue timeout with 3:55 left in the half. An alley-oop dunk from Hawkins to Joshua Ola-Joseph after the timeout put Minnesota up 35-30, and treys by Braeden Carrington and Mitchell Jr. pushed the lead to 41-33 and forced another timeout from Purdue head coach Matt Painter. With Garcia on the bench, Jack Wilson's layup closed the first-half scoring and sent the Gophers to the locker room with a 43-35 lead. Mitchell Jr. had 12 points at the break on 4-of-6 three-pointers, and Christie had 11 points on 3-of-3 treys. The Gophers were 9-of-16 (.563) from behind the arc as a team in the first 20 minutes.
Payne opened the second half with a layup to give the Gophers their largest lead at 45-35, but Purdue fought back with an 8-0 run to pull within two points. Another Payne layup and a pair of free throws by Mitchell Jr. stretched the lead back to 49-43. Garcia answered a Purdue trey with his second of the night and Christie knocked down a jumper from just inside the line to keep the Gophers ahead 54-48, but the Boilers went on a 15-1 run to reclaim a 63-55 lead with 10:40 left. Garcia scored on a layup and then added a three-point play to pull Minnesota within 64-60. A 6-0 Purdue run expanded the lead back to 70-60, but Garcia scored seven points during an 11-3 run to pull Minnesota back within two points at 73-71 with 4:16 remaining. Once again, the Boilers used a 6-0 run to expand the lead to 79-71 before Hawkins drained a three to make it a five-point game at 79-74 with 1:55 left. But Purdue closed out the comeback win.
Minnesota returns home to play host to Rutgers on Sunday, with tipoff at Williams Arena set for 5:30 p.m. CDT on Big Ten Network.
Highlights: Gophers 80, NDSU 54
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