University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, February 15
Los Angeles, CA
3:00 PM
University of Minnesota
13-12,5-9Big Ten
69
at
66
Southern California
14-11,6-8Big Ten
1
2
F
Minnesota
29
40
69
Southern California
38
28
66
Team Stats
MINN
USC
FG%
.439
.438
3FG%
.278
.600
FT%
.700
.833
RB
36
27
TO
10
14
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
11
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Rally For Road Win At Southern California
2/15/2025 6:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Lu'Cye Patterson scored a season-high 25 points, including 19 in the decisive second half, and Frank Mitchell recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds to allow Minnesota (13-12, 5-9 Big Ten) to rally from a 14-point first-half deficit and defeat USC (14-11, 6-8 B1G) 69-66 at Galen Center.
Patterson scored 24 points last Saturday versus No. 23 Illinois, and he willed the Gophers back into this one by finishing the game 6-of-16 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and going 11-for-13 at the free throw line. He added three rebounds, three steals, and two assists in 34 minutes. Mitchell came off the bench for his double-double. He was 7-of-9 from the field and finished with season-highs in both points (15) and rebounds (12) in just 20 minutes. Isaac Asuma added 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists, Dawson Garcia added seven points and eight boards, and Femi Odukale had four points, four rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
Minnesota, which trailed 31-17 with 4:28 left in the first half, made 25-of-57 (.439) field goals, including 5-of-18 (.278) three-pointers, and 14-of-20 (.700) free throws, and the Gophers were +9 (36-27) on the boards. Minnesota had a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers and a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint. USC finished 21-of-48 (.438) from the field, including 9-of-15 (.600) from long-range, and 15-of-18 (.833) at the line. The Trojans were led by 18 points apiece from Chibuzo Agbo and Wesley Yates III, while Desmond Claude added 12 points.
Minnesota fell behind 8-0 at the start, but layups by Odukale, Asuma, and Patterson pulled the Gophers within two points. USC scored to snap Minnesota's 6-0 run, but Patterson hit a floater in the lane to make it 10-8. A 5-0 USC run stretched the lead back to seven points, but Mike Mitchell Jr. (2 points, 4 assists) knocked down a jumper from just inside the arc to cut it to 15-10 with 9:48 left in the half. The Trojans followed with a 9-0 run to expand their lead to 24-10, but Mitchell scored on a layup to trim the deficit to 12 points at the third media timeout. Ten of Minnesota's first 12 points came in the paint, but USC was 4-of-4 from three-point range to build the double-digit lead. Garcia connected on the Gophers' first three-pointer in nine attempts and Patterson added two free throws to pull within 24-17, but a 7-0 Trojans run expanded the lead back to 14 points and forced a Minnesota timeout with 4:26 left. An Asuma triple cut it to 31-20, he added a pair of free throws for a 33-22 score with 3:20 left, and then canned another three with 2:36 remaining to pull Minnesota back to within 33-25. Two Mitchell layups made it a 38-29 halftime score.
Asuma led the Gophers with 10 first-half points, with Patterson and Mitchell adding six apiece, and Garcia had three points and a team-best four rebounds. As a team, Minnesota made 11-of-27 (.407) field goals, including 3-of-11 (.273) three-pointers, and 4-of-4 free throws, and the teams were even on the boards with 14 each. USC was 13-of-24 (.542) from the field, including a red-hot 6-of-8 from long-range, and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Agbo paced the Trojans with 12 first-half points, while Yates III added 10.
Parker Fox opened the second stanza with a layup to pull the Gophers within seven, and a couple free throws from Patterson kept Minnesota within seven at 40-33. Fox added another layup on a pass from Odukale to cut it to 40-35, but USC countered with a 5-0 run. Garcia came up with a steal and scored on a floater at the other end to cut the deficit to 45-37, and a Patterson layup and a free throw from Mitchell pulled the Gophers back within seven. Minnesota cut it to 49-44 after a pair of Patterson FTs and a tip-in by Mitchell. USC stretched the lead back to eight with a three, but Patterson cut it to 52-49 with a layup and a three, and the Gophers then took their first lead of the game with a layup by Asuma and a putback dunk from Mitchell with 7:16 left to force a USC timeout.
An Odukale layup and a deep Patterson three put the Gophers up 58-54, but USC retook the lead with a 5-0 run. Patterson tied the game at 59-59 by going 1-of-2 at the line, but the Trojans jumped back in front with a three and added a free throw for a 9-1 run. Garcia scored on a layup to cut it to 63-61. USC extended the lead to five after Agbo drew a foul on a three-point attempt and made all three, but Mitchell scored on a layup with 1:13 left and then added another layup with 0:24 remaining to pull within 66-65. After a timeout by Minnesota, the Gophers came up with a turnover and Patterson was fouled with 13.2 seconds left. He made both free throws to give the Gophers a 67-66 edge. USC turned the ball over with 4.1 seconds on the clock, Patterson was intentionally fouled on the inbounds pass with 0:3.1 left, and he put Minnesota up 69-66 by making a pair of shots at the line.
Minnesota remains in Los Angeles for the second of two games, facing RV/RV UCLA for a 9:30 p.m. CST tipoff on Tuesday, Feb. 18, on FS1.
Patterson scored 24 points last Saturday versus No. 23 Illinois, and he willed the Gophers back into this one by finishing the game 6-of-16 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and going 11-for-13 at the free throw line. He added three rebounds, three steals, and two assists in 34 minutes. Mitchell came off the bench for his double-double. He was 7-of-9 from the field and finished with season-highs in both points (15) and rebounds (12) in just 20 minutes. Isaac Asuma added 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists, Dawson Garcia added seven points and eight boards, and Femi Odukale had four points, four rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
Minnesota, which trailed 31-17 with 4:28 left in the first half, made 25-of-57 (.439) field goals, including 5-of-18 (.278) three-pointers, and 14-of-20 (.700) free throws, and the Gophers were +9 (36-27) on the boards. Minnesota had a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers and a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint. USC finished 21-of-48 (.438) from the field, including 9-of-15 (.600) from long-range, and 15-of-18 (.833) at the line. The Trojans were led by 18 points apiece from Chibuzo Agbo and Wesley Yates III, while Desmond Claude added 12 points.
Minnesota fell behind 8-0 at the start, but layups by Odukale, Asuma, and Patterson pulled the Gophers within two points. USC scored to snap Minnesota's 6-0 run, but Patterson hit a floater in the lane to make it 10-8. A 5-0 USC run stretched the lead back to seven points, but Mike Mitchell Jr. (2 points, 4 assists) knocked down a jumper from just inside the arc to cut it to 15-10 with 9:48 left in the half. The Trojans followed with a 9-0 run to expand their lead to 24-10, but Mitchell scored on a layup to trim the deficit to 12 points at the third media timeout. Ten of Minnesota's first 12 points came in the paint, but USC was 4-of-4 from three-point range to build the double-digit lead. Garcia connected on the Gophers' first three-pointer in nine attempts and Patterson added two free throws to pull within 24-17, but a 7-0 Trojans run expanded the lead back to 14 points and forced a Minnesota timeout with 4:26 left. An Asuma triple cut it to 31-20, he added a pair of free throws for a 33-22 score with 3:20 left, and then canned another three with 2:36 remaining to pull Minnesota back to within 33-25. Two Mitchell layups made it a 38-29 halftime score.
Asuma led the Gophers with 10 first-half points, with Patterson and Mitchell adding six apiece, and Garcia had three points and a team-best four rebounds. As a team, Minnesota made 11-of-27 (.407) field goals, including 3-of-11 (.273) three-pointers, and 4-of-4 free throws, and the teams were even on the boards with 14 each. USC was 13-of-24 (.542) from the field, including a red-hot 6-of-8 from long-range, and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Agbo paced the Trojans with 12 first-half points, while Yates III added 10.
Parker Fox opened the second stanza with a layup to pull the Gophers within seven, and a couple free throws from Patterson kept Minnesota within seven at 40-33. Fox added another layup on a pass from Odukale to cut it to 40-35, but USC countered with a 5-0 run. Garcia came up with a steal and scored on a floater at the other end to cut the deficit to 45-37, and a Patterson layup and a free throw from Mitchell pulled the Gophers back within seven. Minnesota cut it to 49-44 after a pair of Patterson FTs and a tip-in by Mitchell. USC stretched the lead back to eight with a three, but Patterson cut it to 52-49 with a layup and a three, and the Gophers then took their first lead of the game with a layup by Asuma and a putback dunk from Mitchell with 7:16 left to force a USC timeout.
An Odukale layup and a deep Patterson three put the Gophers up 58-54, but USC retook the lead with a 5-0 run. Patterson tied the game at 59-59 by going 1-of-2 at the line, but the Trojans jumped back in front with a three and added a free throw for a 9-1 run. Garcia scored on a layup to cut it to 63-61. USC extended the lead to five after Agbo drew a foul on a three-point attempt and made all three, but Mitchell scored on a layup with 1:13 left and then added another layup with 0:24 remaining to pull within 66-65. After a timeout by Minnesota, the Gophers came up with a turnover and Patterson was fouled with 13.2 seconds left. He made both free throws to give the Gophers a 67-66 edge. USC turned the ball over with 4.1 seconds on the clock, Patterson was intentionally fouled on the inbounds pass with 0:3.1 left, and he put Minnesota up 69-66 by making a pair of shots at the line.
Minnesota remains in Los Angeles for the second of two games, facing RV/RV UCLA for a 9:30 p.m. CST tipoff on Tuesday, Feb. 18, on FS1.
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