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12-11,4-8Big Ten
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Trio Leads Gophers to Road Win at Penn State
2/4/2025 8:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Dawson Garcia had game-high totals of 19 points and 14 rebounds and Lu'Cye Patterson and Brennan Rigsby each scored 14 points, as Minnesota (12-11, 4-8 Big Ten) rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to post a 69-61 win over Penn State (13-10, 3-9 B1G) at the Bryce Jordan Center.
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The win was Minnesota's fourth in its past six Big Ten games and its second conference road win this season. The Gophers have won three straight against the Nittany Lions, including their past two in State College. Penn State fell to 10-2 at home this season with the loss.
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Garcia entered the game with a streak of seven-straight 20-point games, and he narrowly missed extending it to eight, but he recorded his sixth double-double of the season by grabbing a season-high 14 rebounds. He was 7-of-15 from the field and 5-of-7 at the line. Patterson shot 6-of-10 and added seven boards, three assists, and a pair of steals. Rigsby, who had not scored since having seven points at Wisconsin on Jan. 10, came off the bench to go 5-of-5, including 2-of-2 from long-range, and 2-of-2 at the line. He added three rebounds and an assist in 22 minutes. Rigsby's 14 points tied his season-high against Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 1.
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Minnesota shot the lights out in the second half, making 16-of-23 (.696) field goals, including 4-of-7 (.571) three-pointers, and finished 26-of-49 (.531) from the field. The Gophers were 5-of-14 (.357) from deep and 12-of-15 (.800) at the free throw line. Mike Mitchell Jr. finished with nine points, three assists, and a pair of steals, Parker Fox had six points and two blocked shots, and Isaac Asuma had five points, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
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Penn State was held to its second-lowest scoring output (52 vs Illinois) of the season by the Gophers. The Nittany Lions made just 20-of-58 (.345) field goals, including 6-of-20 (.300) three-pointers, and 15-of-20 free throws. D'Marco Dunn led PSU with 18 points and added six rebounds and three assists.
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Fox accounted for the lone points for either team over the first four-plus minutes, as the Gophers held the Nittany Lions to 0-of-4 field goals and forced four turnovers. Garcia grabbed his own rebound and scored on a layup to put the Gophers up, 4-0, but PSU finally got on the board at the 13:44 mark and went on a 7-0 run to grab the lead. Femi Odukale (4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 points, 2 steals) hit a 10-foot jumper in the lane to pull Minnesota within 7-6, but the Nits answered with a 7-2 run to take a 14-8 lead. Mitchell Jr. knocked down the first three-pointer of the night to cut it to 14-11, but PSU stretched it to 18-11 before a Garcia layup pulled the Gophers within five. Penn State extended the lead to 22-13 before Rigsby scored on a layup with 2:49 left. The Nittany Lions added a three-pointer for a 10-point lead, but the Gophers closed the half with an emphatic Rigsby dunk, and layups from Patterson and Garcia over the final two minutes to cut the halftime score to 25-21.
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Garcia led Minnesota with first-half totals of six points and six rebounds, while Patterson and Rigsby each added four points, and Mitchell Jr. had three points and three assists. Minnesota made 10-of-26 (.385) field goals, including 1-of-7 (.143) three-pointers, and did not attempt a free throw. Penn State made 10-of-25 (.400) field goals, including 3-of-9 treys, 2-of-2 free throws, and were +4 on the boards. Dunn had 11 points and five rebounds at the break, with Nick Kern adding five points and five boards.
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Fox scored on a baseline dunk, Garcia tipped in a miss, Patterson made a floater in the lane, and Garcia added a fastbreak dunk to keep Minnesota within 32-29 early in the second half, but PSU led by five at the first media timeout. Rigsby drove for a layup to cut it to 34-31, and a layup by Patterson and a pair of free throws from Garcia pulled Minnesota within one at 36-35 with 14:11 remaining. An Asuma layup cut it to 38-37, but Odukale was whistled for a foul and then a technical to foul out of the game with 12:32 remaining. Penn State made the free throws for the tech, but couldn't score on the possession and led 40-37.
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Fox hit a pair of free throws, pulling Minnesota back within one, a Garcia putback layup did the same, and a three by Mitchell Jr. tied the score at 44-44 with 10:05 remaining. Another triple from Mitchell Jr. gave Minnesota its first lead since 4-2. The Gophers made 10-of-16 (.625) field goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Patterson knocked down a pair of free throws, and Rigsby beat the shot clock by banking in a three-pointer from the top of the key to extend the Gophers' lead to 52-46 with 7:03 left. PSU ended Minnesota's 7-0 run to pull within four, and Minnesota called timeout with 6:03 remaining. Asuma scored on a layup and Garcia connected on a 10-foot floater to stretch the advantage to 56-48, and Patterson added a layup on an assist from Garcia to make it 58-50 with 4:11 left. Garcia added a pair of foul shots to keep the Gophers ahead by eight, 60-52, and Rigsby drained a three from the top of the key to put Minnesota up 63-52. Penn State used a 4-0 run to trim the lead to seven points, but Patterson hit a short jumper in the lane to make it 65-56 with 1:02 left, and PSU called a timeout. Dunn hit a three to cut the lead to 65-59, but Asuma hit the second of two free throws and Rigsby added a pair at the line to make it 68-59 with 21.1 seconds left. Garcia had a chance to extend his streak, but made 1-of-2 at the line with 0:09 left to finish with 19 points, and Minnesota secured its second road win in Big Ten play.
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Minnesota returns home to play host to No. 23/25 Illinois for a 5:00 p.m. CST tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 8, on Big Ten Network.