Gophers Cruise through Exhibition Season
November 1 and 6, 2007

The Minnesota Gophers began their 2006-07 season with a pair of exhibition games, one a blowout of Bemidji State and the other a loss to Winona State, the defending Division II champions and a team that nearly went on to an undefeated season and another title.

The pre-season foes to start the 2007-2008 season were not as formidable, and the Gophers had no trouble beating the Minnesota State, Mankato Mavericks 94-68 on November 1 and the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs 88-52 on November 6.

The Gophers were down to a 10-player roster in each game. Brandon Smith left the team in October and an injury left them without Ryan Saunders for either team. In addition, Jamal Abu-Shamala missed the Minnesota State game, and Lawrence McKenzie was out with a groin injury for the Southwest Minnesota State game.

With 24 points, McKenzie led all scorers in the win over Minnesota State. He was 9-for-13 from the field, including 4-for-6 beyond the three-point line. Spencer Tollackson and Jonathan Williams provided strong inside play. Tollackson had 11 points and six rebounds while Williams, playing 21 minutes off the bench, had 13 rebounds, including three on the offensive boards.

The Mustangs had a new backcourt and point-guard Jesse Clark had a game-high five turnovers. The other guard, Jadee Jones, a graduate of Hopkins High School, was playing in his first game for Minnesota State after transferring from Furman University and had 21 points.

With McKenzie missing from the Southwest Minnesota game, Lawrence Westbrook and Al Nolen had the chance to shine. Westbrook, in his second season with the Gophers, started and had 17 points. Nolen came off the bench and got a lot of playing time because of his hot shooting. The freshman from Henry High School in Minneapolis didn’t miss, making all six of his field goals, including five three-pointers, and all seven of his free throws, finishing with 24 points in 28 minutes. Senior Dan Coleman was in double figures again, scoring 16 points against the Mustangs to follow-up on a 17-point performance against the Mavericks.

Good first-half shooting against the Minnesota zone kept Southwest State in the game. The Mavericks trailed 38-33 at halftime. However, they made only 2 of 24 shots (including misses of all seven three-point attempts) in the second half.

Minnesota coach Tubby Smith noted that games against Division II opponents don’t mean much but added, “It helps to prepare. It gives our guys confidence. There is still a lot to smooth out and improve on, and this helps to evaluate, to see what you have to do to get better.”