Williams Leads Gophers Past Appalachian State
December 6, 2011

Rodney Williams is settling into the power forward position for the Minnesota Gophers since the season-ending knee injury to Trevor Mbakwe. Playing closer to the basket, Williams had 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting in leading the Gophers past the Appalachian State Mountaineers 70-56.

The Mountaineers had tied the game on a three-pointer by Omar Carter with 5:20 left, but in the next minute the Gophers opened a lead that was never threatened. It started with a three-pointer by Williams as the shot clock was winding down. Freshman Joe Coleman, who scored 10 points off the bench, then stepped in front of a Mitch Woods pass, raced down for a lay up, was fouled, and converted to give Minnesota a 6-point lead. After a Mountaineers time out, Julian Welch stripped Woods in the back court and went in for a lay up to put Minnesota in front 60-52.

The Gophers have been starting three guards with Mbawke gone and center Ralph Sampson having missed several games with a bad ankle. Welch, Austin Hollins, and Andre Hollins have been carrying much of the backcourt load, with Maverick Ahanmisi playing a big role against Appalachian State as Andre Hollins was hampered with an ankle injury suffered in last Saturday’s win over Southern California. Ahanmisi had 5 assists in no turnovers in 23 minutes.

“Those are guys who are good to have—three guys who can run the team like that,” said Minnesota coach Tubby Smith.

After a three-game layoff, Sampson came off the bench and had a dunk among his 10 points to go with 5 rebounds. Williams said he thought Sampson was playing at about 75 percent, and Smith said it was important for his big man to get “his wind and stamina” back as the Gophers wind down their nonconference schedule. “We might as well ease him back in and see how he’s doing.”

Minnesota finished strong again, a trait this year’s team has displayed and one that was a problem for last year’s Gophers. However, the first half was one that Appalachian State dominated early and late. The Mountaineers had a 5-0 lead and held the Gophers scoreless for more than four minutes at the start of the game. After Minnesota came back to build a 29-19 lead, Appalachian State closed to within 2 points at halftime. Reserve Rodney Milum had hit 4 of 5 three-pointers in the half, including 3 after the Gophers had opened up the 10-point lead.

The Gophers held Milum to one three-pointer and a free throw after the break. “I thought out kids really made some adjustments at halftime to defend our threes better,” said Smith. “I was really impressed with Rodney Milum. He was really feeling it.” Smith credited a “conscious effort” to defend on the perimeter, coming out high on the pick-and-roll and helping one another to trap the shooter.

The key to the final minutes, according to Welch, was, “Getting defensive stops. We were worried about the defensive end and no easy threes.”

“It was a hard fought game,” said Appalachian State coach Jason Capel. “I am proud of my guys and the way they competed and executed. We did what we wanted to do for roughly 37 minutes. We had some breakdowns, but playing hard makes up for some of that.”

Minnesota upped its nonconference record to 8-1 and will next play St. Peters.

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