Gophers Beat American and Toledo
November 9 and November 12, 2012

“It’s good to get this game under our belt,” said Minnesota men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith, commented after his team destroyed American University, Washington, D.C., 72-36, at Williams Arena.

“With the first game of the season, you’re always a little nervous. You don’t know how they’re going to respond.” The Gophers responded by completely dominating the Eagles in all phases of the game. The visitors had no chance, especially after Minnesota jumped to a 15-0 lead. “Our kids came out with focus and intensity,” Smith said.

American, led by 6-8 forward Stephan Lumpkins, is picked to finish in the first division of the Patriot League but played little better than Minnesota’s Division II exhibition opponents, Minnesota State Mankato and SW Baptist.

The Gophers featured a smothering defense and led at the half by the football score of 44-14. In fact the final tally echoed a score not uncommon in today’s collegiate football world.

Austin Hollins and Rodney Williams led the Gophers with 20 and 16 points, respectively. No Eagle finished in double figures, but Lumpkins, who returned to his team after a year in Organized Baseball, did manage to score nine points.

After Minnesota doubled the score on American, fans began to wonder just how good the 2012-2013 Gophers were. They only had to wait from Friday to Monday to find out.

This season’s edition of the Toledo Rockets entered Williams Arena as favorites to win the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. eightThe Rockets won 19 games last season and participated in the post-season College Insiders Tournament. Junior guard Rian Pearson is being promoted as the next MAC Player of the Year. This would be no pushover for the Gophers.

Yet, as they had done against American, the Gophers raced off to a 12-0 lead, and the Rockets could not recover. By halftime, Austin Hollins had 10 points and Rodney Williams eight. Minnesota made 57 percent from the field and made half of the team’s eight 3-point attempts. The score was: Minnesota 48, Toledo 22.

The story in the second half was different. The Gophers appeared to lose interest and started to coast. Foolish fouls were commited, turnovers increased, and shots clanged off the rim. Unfortunately for Toledo, the Rockets could not take advantage of Minnesota’s sloppiness.

Despite committing eight turnovers, Joe Coleman scored 15 points. Hollins finished with 13 and Williams 12. Pearson led all scorers with 18.

If the Gophers play as well as they did in the first half against Toledo, they should hold their own against any Big 10 opponent.