Smith Era Begins with Romp over Army
November 10, 2007

In their first regular-season game under head coach Tubby Smith, the Minnesota Gophers started slowly but put together a double-digit run in each half and easily defeated the Army Black Knights 84-52.

Down 9-5 after five minutes while also being out-rebounded 8-3 at the time, players off the bench provided the spark the comeback moved Minnesota ahead to stay. Freshman Blake Hoffarber connected on a three-pointer the first time he touched the ball, Jamal Abu-Shamala followed with a jumper for an 11-10 lead, and two more reserves extended the lead, Damian Johnson with a put-back stuff of a missed three-pointer by Abu-Shamala and Jonathan Williams with a pair of free throws, culminating a nine-point run that was followed later in the half by an 11-0 surge. Smith said the bench players “changed the tempo” and “gave us a lot of momentum.”

Johnson was outstanding throughout the game, grabbing eight rebounds (half of them off the offensive boards), scoring 12 points, blocking four shots, and deflecting several passes, which helped lead to 25 Army turnovers. The Gophers shut down Army’s offense in the second half, holding the Blue Knights to a 31 percent shooting percentage and at one point scoring 15 straight points.

The Gophers did a good job bottling up Army sophomore guard Jarell Brown, who had averaged 16.9 points per game as a freshman. Brown had opened the scoring with a three-pointer two minutes into the game and soon after stopped the Gophers’ 9-0 run with a field goal. Those were his final points of the game as he was 2-for-11 in field goals and did not get to the free-throw line.

In addition, Lawrence Westbrook forced a five-second violation on Army guard Marcus Nelson. The next time the Black Knights had the ball, they could not get it across the center line in 10 seconds as Lawrence McKenzie harassed Chris Richard. Smith said his team was “focused and aggressive” on defense with “active hands and deflections.” Army did not have any players in double figures in scoring.

The Gophers were strong on the boards, pulling down 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and eight in the second half, finishing with a 43-26 total rebounding advantage over Army.

For Minnesota, Dan Coleman was high with 16 points to go with seven rebounds. Al Nolen had six assists and no turnovers to go with nine points. Smith said he was pleased with the way his squad shared the ball, racking up 19 assists, although he said the Gophers sometimes had a tendency to over-dribble rather than pass the ball. Smith also praised his team’s effort, noting they were still diving for loose balls and going to the floor even after opening up a 30-point lead. “We expect that,” he said.

Notes: Smith spent time a few years ago with Army coach Jim Crews during Operation Hardwood in Iraq. . . . Crews played on the 1976 national-champion Indiana Hoosiers, who were coached by Bobby Knight, himself a former Army coach. . . . Both teams had identical point totals in each half, the Gophers scoring 42 points in the first and second halves and the Black Knights scoring 26 points in each half. . . . The Black Knights are coming off a 15-16 season, the win total being their highest in more than 20 years.

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