Gophers Halt Losing Streak
December 5, 2009

In a stroke of scheduling genius, Minnesota basketball coach Tubby Smith observed before the start of the 2009-2010 season that there would be a stretch early on that would see his team playing four consecutive road games against major college opposition. The astute Tubby guessed that the Gophers would struggle through this period and need a pick-me-up when his road warriors returned home.

As it turned out, the Gophers lost three of four of those games and were in desperate need of a feel-good contest back in the friendly confines of Williams Arena. To restore his players’ faith in their abilities, it was necessary to supply a victim, preferably an Ivy League bottom feeder. On Saturday afternoon that victim turned out to be Brown University out of Providence, R.I.

To note that the game was over shortly after the opening tip would be an exaggeration. Nonetheless baskets by Damian Johnson, Al Nolen, and Ralph Sampson gave the Gophers a 7-3 lead, one that was stretched to 16-3 after a Paul Carter field goal. Coach Smith elected to demote freshman phenom Rodney Williams from his usual starting lineup after Williams was essentially invisible away from home against Butler, Portland, Texas A&M, and Miami. Back in the familiar surroundings of the Barn, Williams responded with a field goal to increase Minnesota’s lead to 21-6. Williams finished with nine points.

The Gophers featured nearly perfect balance in scoring. Eight Minnesota players finished with between eight and 13 points with Blake Hoffarber leading the way with 13. Hoffarber, a 6-4 guard, registered his first career double-double when he hauled in his 10th rebound in the second half. The Gophers put it on cruise control after attaining a 47-10 lead on a three-point basket by Nolen with three minutes and 21 seconds left in the first half.

The final score was Minnesota 91, Brown 55.

“We were having fun again,” Hoffarber said after the game. Minnesota’s record is now five wins against three losses. “We started to become loose again.”

“We had shooting difficulties in the last couple of games,” said reserve point guard Devoe Joseph. “We more relaxed out there today. We took care of the ball and got more open shots.”

The loss was the seventh in 11 games for the Brown Bears. Brown University has been playing basketball since the 1900-1901 season. The 1939 team reached the NCAA playoffs, and the 1986 team won the Ivy League championship. Little of significance happened in between or since. Losses this season have come at the hands of Virginia Tech, Rhode Island, St. John’s, Holy Cross, and Siena. Last year’s squad posted a 9-19 won-loss record.

Brown’s most accomplished player has been 6-8 forward Matt Mullery, who entered the game with a 17.2 scoring average. The Gopher defense held Mullery to seven points in 30 minutes of action on Saturday.

After trailing by 51-20 at halftime, the Bears managed to regain some composure in the second half to add 35 points to their final total. At one point, Brown actually scored six points in a row to cut the Minnesota lead to 82-46. Andrew McCarthy and Steven Gruber, who both were on the bench at the tip-off each scored 10 points to lead the Brown scoring.

After Hoffarber’s 13 points came Johnson and Lawrence Westbrook with 12, Sampson and Joseph with 11, and Nolen with 10.

“Today, our guys blocked out better,” observed Hoffarber. “We’ve been working on that and our rebounding the past couple of days.” For Hoffarber, at least, the extra work paid off.

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