CORNELL TOOK ON THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA IN A MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME

Cornell made a visit to Williams Arena on December 4, 2010 for a nonconference men’s basketball game. Cornell came into the game with a record of 2-5. Minnesota came into the game with a record of 6-1. 

The Gophers came out playing a touch man-to-man defense. Cornell looked to push the ball down the court when in transition. 

Both teams took their time on the offensive end. Neither team looked to rush their shots. The Gophers did a good job of pushing the ball down the court. 

Trevor Mbakwe and Blake Hoffarber were able to knock down some deep 3-point shots.

With 15:09 left to go in the first half the score was Minnesota 8 and Cornell 7.

Devoe Joseph came into the game at the 15:09 mark. This was his second game. He was suspended for the first six games of the season due to a violation of team rules.

The Gophers did a good job of defending the ball. They made Cornell work hard for their shots.

With 11:55 left to go in the first half the score was Cornell 13 and Minnesota 10.

Maurice Walker for Minnesota took the ball hard to the basket. He was able to make his shots. Maurice was aggressive on both ends of the court. 

Miles Asafo-Adjei for Cornell looked to get them into their offense. He was all over the court. The Gophers had a hard time defending him.

Cornell was able to make shots in the first half. They got all of their players involved in the scoring.

With 7:46 left to go in the first half the score was Cornell 23 and Minnesota 20.

The Gophers continued to put pressure on Cornell. They were able to slow them down for a period late in the half.

Blake Hoffarber stepped up and was able to knock down some key three point shots late in the game to keep the Gophers in it.

With 3:19 left to go in the half the score was Cornell 29 Minnesota 26.

The Gophers continued to look to score in the first half. They went to a zone defense. The zone defense gave Cornell problems.

Rodney Williams came up and slammed dunked over Anthony Gatlin and was fouled. Rodney made the free throw and that gave the Gophers some confidence.

The Gophers had a tough time shooting free throws in the first half. They were 8-18. Cornell on the other hand was 3-5 from the line in the first half. 

At halftime the score was Minnesota 34 and Cornell 33.

Minnesota came out playing man-to-man defense. Ralph Sampson provided a spark on the offensive end. He looked strong throughout the game.

Cornell kept on going after the Gophers, they played solid defense. They were able to contain Minnesota.

Both teams had trouble shooting the ball. They were looking for their shots but they were not making them. 

The game got close midway through the second half. The Gophers went to a 2 3 zone. That caused a lot of problems for Cornell. Chip Armelin came up with a few big baskets that gave the Gophers the lead with 10:00 left to go.

With 7:53 left to go the score was Minnesota 54 and Cornell 50.

The Gophers came out of the timeout on fire. They kept looking for Chip Armelin for scoring. Chip did a good job of getting shots up that he wanted. 

With 3:47 left to go the score of the game was Minnesota 62 and Cornell 60.

The Gophers took a lot of time off the clock late in the contest. Cornell fought back and came within two points with just under a minute.

Devoe Joseph came up and nailed a deep two point shot down the stretch. That was big because that gave the Gophers the lead for the rest of the game. 

 The Gophers were able to come away with the 71-66 victory over Cornell.

Minnesota’s head coach Tubby Smith and players Ralph Sampson and Blake Hoffarber talked to the media after the game about the 71-66 victory over Cornell.