University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, February 22
1:00 PM
University of Minnesota
14-13,6-10Big Ten
60
vs
69
Penn State
15-13,5-12Big Ten
1
2
F
Penn St.
28
41
69
Minnesota
26
34
60
Team Stats
PSU
MINN
FG%
.457
.339
3FG%
.286
.217
FT%
.920
.750
RB
36
34
TO
14
10
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Kelly Lynn
Gopher Comeback Falls Short vs. Penn State
2/22/2025 4:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Femi Odukale led five players in double-figures with 15 points, and Dawson Garcia had 11 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, but Minnesota (14-13, 6-10 Big Ten) dropped a 69-60 decision to Penn State (15-13, 5-12 B1G) in front of a season-high crowd of 11,292 at Williams Arena.
Odukale was 4-of-4 from the field and 6-of-7 at the free throw line, while tying Garcia with a team-high four assists. Lu'Cye Patterson finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, Isaac Asuma had 10 points, five boards, three steals, and two assists, and Mike Mitchell Jr. had 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers. But Minnesota struggled offensively, making just 20-of-59 (.339) field goals, including 5-of-23 (.217) three-pointers.
The Gophers did make 15-of-20 at the free throw line, which makes them 65-of-82 (.793) over the past five games, but Penn State was 23-of-25 (.920) at the line. The Nittany Lions were led by a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds from Yanic Konan Niederhauser, while Ace Baldwin Jr. had 10 points and seven assists, and Freddie Dilione V finished with 10 points and six boards, helping PSU to a 36-34 lead in rebounding.
Minnesota jumped out to an 8-2 lead, as the Gophers forced three early turnovers, and Garcia and Mitchell Jr. each knocked down three-pointers. Asuma made a jumper in the lane and Mitchell Jr. added his second trey to increase the lead to 13-6 with 16:15 left in the half. Minnesota led 17-10 after a pair of free throws by Garcia and a layup by Asuma, but a 5-0 PSU run trimmed the lead to two points with 11:36 remaining. Garcia scored, Mitchell Jr. came up with a steal and layup, and Patterson hit a three for a 7-0 run that stretched Minnesota's lead to 24-15. Three layups pulled the Nittany Lions within three points, forcing head coach Ben Johnson to call timeout with 4:52 left. Garcia made a pair of free throws to snap a four-minute, 32-second scoring drought and put the Gophers up, 26-21, but Penn State battled back with a 7-0 run to take its first lead with 50.5 seconds remaining and the Nittany Lions took that 28-26 lead to the locker room.
Garcia led the Gophers with nine points and six rebounds at the half, while Mitchell Jr. had eight points, Asuma had four points and three boards, and Patterson added three points and five rebounds. Minnesota made 8-of-30 (.267) field goals, including 4-of-13 (.308) three-pointers, and 6-of-6 free throws. But the Gophers missed their final 13 field goal attempts of the first half and were outscored 13-2 over the final nine minutes.
Penn State was 10-of-26 (.385) from the field in the first half, including 1-of-8 from three-point range, and 7-of-7 at the line. Konan Niederhauser led the Nittany Lions with 10 points. The teams were tied with 19 rebounds each at the break, but PSU held an 18-6 advantage in points in the paint.
Parker Fox opened the second half with a baseline dunk, and Odukale hit a three-pointer and a jumper just inside the arc to give Minnesota a 33-31 lead. Garcia reached double-figures with a floater in the lane, and the score was tied at 35-35 at the first media timeout. Penn State, which had trailed 35-33, used a 13-0 run to build a 46-35 lead, as Minnesota was scoreless for six minutes and 22 seconds before a Frank Mitchell (2 pts, 4 reb) tip-in with 10:33 left. The Nittany Lions extended the lead to 50-37 before Asuma scored on a layup to trim the deficit to 11. A Penn State three-pointer made it 53-39, but Patterson scored on a layup and Mitchell Jr. made a jumper just inside the arc to pull Minnesota within 53-43, forcing a Penn State timeout.
Down 12, Odukale drove the baseline a threw down a dunk on Konan Niederhauser to bring the crowd to its feet, then added the free throw to cut it to 57-48. Trailing 60-49, Odukale dunked, Patterson made two free throws, and Odukale hit a pair at the line to cut it to 60-55 with 2:45 left. After an alternating possession gave the Gophers the ball, Asuma made two free throws with 1:44 left to cut it to a three-point game. But PSU ended an 8-0 Gophers run with a pair of free throws and went 7-of-7 at the line in the final 1:31 to secure the road victory.
Minnesota attempts to bounce back when it plays host to Northwestern for a 6:00 p.m. CST tipoff Tuesday, Feb. 25, on Peacock.
Odukale was 4-of-4 from the field and 6-of-7 at the free throw line, while tying Garcia with a team-high four assists. Lu'Cye Patterson finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, Isaac Asuma had 10 points, five boards, three steals, and two assists, and Mike Mitchell Jr. had 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers. But Minnesota struggled offensively, making just 20-of-59 (.339) field goals, including 5-of-23 (.217) three-pointers.
The Gophers did make 15-of-20 at the free throw line, which makes them 65-of-82 (.793) over the past five games, but Penn State was 23-of-25 (.920) at the line. The Nittany Lions were led by a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds from Yanic Konan Niederhauser, while Ace Baldwin Jr. had 10 points and seven assists, and Freddie Dilione V finished with 10 points and six boards, helping PSU to a 36-34 lead in rebounding.
Minnesota jumped out to an 8-2 lead, as the Gophers forced three early turnovers, and Garcia and Mitchell Jr. each knocked down three-pointers. Asuma made a jumper in the lane and Mitchell Jr. added his second trey to increase the lead to 13-6 with 16:15 left in the half. Minnesota led 17-10 after a pair of free throws by Garcia and a layup by Asuma, but a 5-0 PSU run trimmed the lead to two points with 11:36 remaining. Garcia scored, Mitchell Jr. came up with a steal and layup, and Patterson hit a three for a 7-0 run that stretched Minnesota's lead to 24-15. Three layups pulled the Nittany Lions within three points, forcing head coach Ben Johnson to call timeout with 4:52 left. Garcia made a pair of free throws to snap a four-minute, 32-second scoring drought and put the Gophers up, 26-21, but Penn State battled back with a 7-0 run to take its first lead with 50.5 seconds remaining and the Nittany Lions took that 28-26 lead to the locker room.
Garcia led the Gophers with nine points and six rebounds at the half, while Mitchell Jr. had eight points, Asuma had four points and three boards, and Patterson added three points and five rebounds. Minnesota made 8-of-30 (.267) field goals, including 4-of-13 (.308) three-pointers, and 6-of-6 free throws. But the Gophers missed their final 13 field goal attempts of the first half and were outscored 13-2 over the final nine minutes.
Penn State was 10-of-26 (.385) from the field in the first half, including 1-of-8 from three-point range, and 7-of-7 at the line. Konan Niederhauser led the Nittany Lions with 10 points. The teams were tied with 19 rebounds each at the break, but PSU held an 18-6 advantage in points in the paint.
Parker Fox opened the second half with a baseline dunk, and Odukale hit a three-pointer and a jumper just inside the arc to give Minnesota a 33-31 lead. Garcia reached double-figures with a floater in the lane, and the score was tied at 35-35 at the first media timeout. Penn State, which had trailed 35-33, used a 13-0 run to build a 46-35 lead, as Minnesota was scoreless for six minutes and 22 seconds before a Frank Mitchell (2 pts, 4 reb) tip-in with 10:33 left. The Nittany Lions extended the lead to 50-37 before Asuma scored on a layup to trim the deficit to 11. A Penn State three-pointer made it 53-39, but Patterson scored on a layup and Mitchell Jr. made a jumper just inside the arc to pull Minnesota within 53-43, forcing a Penn State timeout.
Down 12, Odukale drove the baseline a threw down a dunk on Konan Niederhauser to bring the crowd to its feet, then added the free throw to cut it to 57-48. Trailing 60-49, Odukale dunked, Patterson made two free throws, and Odukale hit a pair at the line to cut it to 60-55 with 2:45 left. After an alternating possession gave the Gophers the ball, Asuma made two free throws with 1:44 left to cut it to a three-point game. But PSU ended an 8-0 Gophers run with a pair of free throws and went 7-of-7 at the line in the final 1:31 to secure the road victory.
Minnesota attempts to bounce back when it plays host to Northwestern for a 6:00 p.m. CST tipoff Tuesday, Feb. 25, on Peacock.
Highlights: Gophers 84, Northwestern 78
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Highlights: Gophers 60, FDU 43
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