MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS BEAT INDIANA

In a back-and-forth game, Minnesota made enough plays down the stretch to secure a 67-63 road win over Indiana Sunday afternoon at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.


Forward Damian Johnson paced the Gophers (17-3 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) with 18 points and six rebounds and freshman center Ralph Sampson III added 13 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six blocks to help Minnesota snap its two-game losing streak. Lawrence Westbrook and Jamal Abu-Shamala chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Devan Dumes scored a game-high 19 points for Indiana (5-13, 0-6), which is still searching for its first win of conference play.

It wasn’t a masterpiece, but the 20th-ranked Gophers desperate for a victory after back-to-back losses to Northwestern and Purdue will certainly take it.

Down eight midway through the first half, Minnesota rallied back and led by one at halftime. From there, the Gophers would never trail, although things certainly got more than interesting for the Maroon and Gold down the stretch.

Minnesota briefly held a six-point lead with 11 minutes to go in regulation, but that advantage quickly evaporated making for a back-and-forth finish at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers pulled to within one on four occasions over the final nine minutes of play, but could never pull even in the second stanza.

A dunk by Sampson III put Minnesota ahead, 64-59, with 1:52 to go but Malik Storey hit a jumper and Nick Williams hit two free throws to cut the Gophers’ lead to 64-63 with 29.5 seconds to go.

Al Nolen hit two free throws to put Minnesota up, 66-63, and Tom Crean called timeout go draw up a game-tying play on Indiana’s final possession of regulation.


But Dumas misfired on a deep three that would have tied the game with three seconds to go and Paul Carter grabbed the rebound and made one of two free throws to push Minnesota’s lead to two possessions with 2.6 left to go; securing a precious Big Ten road win for the Gophers.


From the onset, Minnesota realized the Hoosiers were not just going to hand over the game.

In front of a packed crowd of Hoosier faithful, Indiana opened the game 5-of-5 from three-point land and jumped out to a 19-11 lead following a layup by Dumes with 8:06 left in the first half.

Minnesota, however, quickly got back into the game – thanks to some tenacious defense and solid offensive production.

Minnesota began the game shooting 28 percent from the field midway through the first half, but the Gophers jumped their average up to 40 percent by halftime. And as the Maroon and Gold locked down and held the Hoosiers to 37 percent shooting and forced 10 turnovers in the first half, the momentum of the game shifted in their favor.

Over the final eight minutes of the first half, the Gophers went on an 20-8 run highlighted by a four-point play by Jamal Abu-Shamala and led 31-27 after a mid range jumper by Westbrook with five seconds remaining in the half.

Indiana guard Verdell Jones III hit a three-pointer from half court as time expired in the first stanza, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 31-30 heading into the locker room. But the Gophers, who shot 45.5 percent from the field, wouldn’t let Jones’ buzzer-beating shot hurt their confidence.

Minnesota opened the second half on an 11-5 run and extended its lead to 42-35 after Nolen found Johnson for a dunk three minutes into the half.

Still, the pesky Hoosiers wouldn’t go away.

Five minutes into the half Indiana pulled to within one at 45-44 following a layup by Daniel Moore.

Minnesota briefly opened up a six-point lead following a breakaway dunk by Paul Carter with 10:46 left in regulation, but five-straight points by the Hoosiers pulled Indiana to within one, 51-50, with 9:45 remaining.
Indiana had a chance to take the lead on its next offensive possession but Jones missed a layup and Broderick Lewis missed two free throws. The Hoosiers would never pull even.

Minnesota returns to the court on Thursday night when the Gophers host Illinois at Williams Arena.