Gophers Finish Nonconference Schedule with Easy Win Over Lafayette
December 22, 2012

Trevor Mbakwe started his first game of the season, but it was a night for the reserves as Minnesota got a final tune-up, if it can be called that, before the start of its conference season with a 75-50 win over Lafayette, which dropped its record on the road to 0-7.

The Gophers got 41 points off the bench to only 1 for the Leopards, the sole point from the reserves coming from Bryce Scott, who made 1 of 2 free throws in the first half, the only time that night that a Lafayette player went to the line.

Dominating the boards, Minnesota had 25 second-chance points to 2 for Lafayette. The Gophers had 26 offensive rebounds among its total of 46, the former figure by itself being more than the Leopards got on both ends in the game.

Mbawke, getting his first start since injuring his knee the previous season, had 5 points and 4 rebounds. Joe Coleman, with 12 points, was the only starter in double figures. Among the bench players, Oto Osenieks had 10 points while Julian Welch, playing 24 minutes, had 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Andre Ingram had 6 points and 6 offensive rebounds.

Though he didn’t play until the second half, Wally Ellenson, a freshman from Rice Lake, Wisconsin, had the fans on his side when he entered. He got a couple offensive rebounds but missed on put-back attempts, before coming through with a grab of a missed shot that he turned into a reverse slam. Ellenson then connected with a three-pointer.

Minnesota coach Tubby Smith emptied most of his bench although Elliott Eliason, the tall sophomore who had started earlier in the season, didn’t see the floor. “It was a coach’s decision not to play Elliott tonight,“ said Smith. “There’s nothing wrong; we just wanted to make sure that he understood some things. Basically that’s all that that was about.”

Seth Hinrichs, a sophomore from Clara City, Minnesota, and the Leopards’ second-leading scorer, had a rough first half, missing all five of his shots from the field, including an air ball. However, he hit three three-pointers in the second half and finished with 11 points.

“We knew that a Big Ten team like Minnesota would have good depth on the roster,”said Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon. “You never know about some of the players until during the game when you see them play, but they’re Big Ten players so you know that they’re going to be strong.”

Now 12-1, with only a loss to Duke, the 13th-ranked Gophers will open their Big Ten season December 31 at home against Michigan State.

“Based on tonight we have a lot of things to work on,” said Smith.