Minnesota’s men’s basketball guard Moe Hargrow pointed towards the crowd. Kris Humphries pumped his fists in celebration.
And there were smiles on the rest of the Gophers players’ faces following an overtime win after 10 days between games.
Sound familiar?
After barely defeating Furman on Nov. 30 after a long hiatus, the Gophers again came out flat after 10 days off against Duquesne before winning 74-69 in overtime Monday night.
“Don’t let the name on their jersey’s fool you,” Hargrow said. “They are a good team. It’s something about these long layoffs.”
For the first 25 minutes at Williams Arena, there were few smiling or happy faces. The Gophers (6-2) played with little emotion, were streaky on defense and found themselves in a 48-30 hole with just over 14 minutes remaining.
Using a tenacious press, Minnesota scored 14 straight points over the next three minutes to get back into the game and set up a dramatic final two minutes of regulation.
“We only scored 10 in the final 10 minutes of regulation,” Dukes coach Danny Nee said. “That isn’t going to be enough to win you games.”
Tied at 61, the Dukes Bryant McAllister stole the ball and raced in for a lay-up with 47 seconds remaining.
At almost the same instance the ball left McAllister’s hands, the whistle blew as the referres called a foul on Humphries away from the ball.
After watching replays, the referees allowed the basket and awarded two free throws to Elijah Palmer.
He missed both.
Humphries was fouled and made two free throws to tie the game with 45 seconds remaining.
Duquesne missed its final shot, setting up Hargrow to be the hero. But the junior’s jumper at the horn missed, sending the game into overtime.
“I felt it was going to go,” Hargrow said. “It was almost all the way down before coming out.”
In overtime, guard Adam Boone’s four free throws down the stretch sealed the win in front of 11,753 fans.
“That shot never changes,” the junior said.
While the Gophers dramatic finish overshadowed a poor first half (30 percent shooting and meager execution on both ends of the court), Minnesota gets another “W” in the win column and does gain some confidence from the victory.
“I am proud of the guys,” Gophers coach Dan Monson said. “They hung together through adversity. You have to find a way to win.”
And One
ï Monson’s wife, Darci, had a baby boy Monday afternoon. Maddox is the couple’s third child.
Both Darci and Maddox are doing well, according to a University announcement.
ï Senior Michael Bauer is only one point shy of 1,000 for his career. Bauer had eight points against the Dukes to raise his total to 999.
He will become the 32nd Minnesota player to reach the four-digit mark.
ï The Gophers unveiled their new white uniforms for Monday’s game. The team typically wears gold jerseys at Williams Arena but this season they have an alternate unform.