Gophers Finish Strong to Beat Bucknell
November 11, 2011

The Minnesota Gophers scored 20 points in the final five minutes to beat the Bucknell Bison 70-58 in their regular-season opener before a crowd of 11,976 at Williams Arena.

The Bison had taken a 53-48 lead on a three-point basket by Cameron Ayers with 5:53 remaining. Bucknell immediately took a time out after the basket, but the break seemed to energize the Gophers, who outscored the Bison 22-5 the rest of the way. For a team that had trouble finishing at the end of the previous season, the strong ending was a welcome change for head coach Tubby Smith. “We stuck with the game plan down the stretch,” he said. “Good teams don’t beat themselves. I was real happy that we were able to execute down the stretch.”

Trevor Mbakwe started the comeback with a pair of free throws, and Austin Hollins then hit a three-pointer to tie the score at 53-53. Two more free throws by Mbakwe put Minnesota ahead to stay, and Hollins was fouled on another long-ranger and made all three shots to open up the lead.

The Gophers got off to a 7-0 lead but led by only 2, 33-31, at halftime. Guard Bryson Johnson got the Bison back in the game with four three-point baskets while the Gophers were only 1 for 8 behind the arc. Andre Hollins made the only three-pointer in the half for Minnesota while Austin Hollins was 0 for 3 in three-pointers. In addition to the game-tying three-pointer and the three free throws in the second half, Hollins had a three-point basket earlier in the half.

The Gophers held Johnson to four points, all on free throws, in the second half. “It was really important for us to stop the threes down the stretch and for us to just keep putting up shots,” said Mbawke, “but the key was to defend their 3-point shots.”

“Minnesota is a very good team, obviously formidable,” said Bucknell coach Dave Paulsen. “We said we had to have single-digit turnovers and hold them to single-digit offensive rebounds. We really could not keep them off the offensive glass or convert on our offensive end.” The Bison had 14 turnovers in the game and allowed 15 offensive rebounds. For the game, Minnesota had a rebounding edge of 41 to 33 with Mbawke leading the team with 10. He was also game-high with 17 points.

Bucknell center Mike Muscala, a junior from Roseville Area High School, had 11 rebounds and 12 points.

“We all just want to finish games off this year,” Mbawke said. “Tonight we did that and it’s a good way to start the season off.”