Gophers Split Nonconference Games at Home
Thursday, December 7 and Saturday, December 9, 2006

After struggling for the first 10 minutes of the first half, the Minnesota Gophers settled down and provided new coach Jim Molinari with what turned out to be a relatively easy 77-53 victory over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, a team searching for an identity in Division I of the NCAA.

Early on, Molinari’s Gophers played with little sense of urgency and allowed SDSU to take leads of 6-0, 8-2, and 23-17. Next, three-point baskets by Lawrence McKenzie and Dan Coleman pulled Minnesota even. A layup by Coleman gave the Gophers a 25-23 lead, one they would not relinquish. Coleman was on fire all night, hitting for a career high 28 points. The suddenly attentive Gophers outscored the Jackrabbits by 18 to 2 for a 41-25 lead.

“South Dakota State came out with confidence,” Molinari told media members after the game. He noted that the game changed in Minnesota’s favor after freshman Damian Johnson entered the game with nine minutes left in the half. Lackluster starter Brandon Smith was benched after only four minutes of play and did not return in the half. “Whoever does the work has the power,” Molinari observed and indicated he insists that his substitutes don’t “take the level of play down.”

The Jackrabbits entered the game with a record of 2 wins and 7 losses. The lesser partner (with North Dakota State University) in a joint move to the NCAA’s Division I level, SDSU has not attained nearly the success of its sister school to the north, going 9-20 last year. This season, losses have come at the hands of Kent State, Alabama A&M, VMI, Idaho, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Northern Iowa, and Utah State.

Against the Gophers, SDSU came out for the second half showing little enthusiasm and soon the team found itself behind by 61-33. Top scorer for the Jackrabbits was 6-6 junior Michael Loney with 13 points. Molinari emptied the Gopher bench in the second half, and all but two players (Kevin Payton and Jonathan Williams) were scoreless at game’s end.

Two days later the Gophers faced the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans, a team playing its seventh of 10 games on the road and hoping to break a three-game losing streak. Rebounding was the difference for the Trojans as they held on for a 67-66 win, a game decided by a field goal by Little Rock’s Steven Moore with 4.9 seconds left followed by two misses at the free-throw line by Limar Wilson with 0.8 seconds to go.

The Trojans held a 43-16 rebounding edge on Minnesota, including 18-3 on the offensive boards. This allowed Little Rock to score 17 points off offensive rebounds to 4 for the Gophers and offset an 18-9 margin in turnovers that favored the Gophers. Lekheythan Malone and Rashad Jones-Jennings each had 10 rebounds. Jones-Jennings came into the game with 12.1 rebounds per game, second in the nation.

“The only way you can solve that is to figure out different ways to go,” said Molinari after the game of the rebounding disparity. I think rebounding is heart and athletic ability and fight. A team like this, that has the second-leading rebounder in the country, kind of exposed it on us. That being said, you can’t get beat that bad on the boards.

Minnesota got all but four of its points from only three players. Lawrence McKenzie led with 24 points, followed by Spence Tollackson (who was 9 of 12 from the field but only 3 of 7 from the free-throw line) with 21 points, and Dan Coleman with 17 points. Fellow starters Wilson and Brandon Smith each had a field goal, while players off the bench were scoreless.

“We’re going to work on getting some confidence in some other guys who now don’t look to score, aren’t aggressive about scoring,” said Molinari. “We have to work with a lot of these young men on their individual skill work.”

Midway through the second half, Little Rock matched its largest lead of the game, eight points, and carried a 65-61 lead into the final two minutes. McKenzie rattled in his fourth three-pointer of the game to pull the Gophers to within one. It was McKenzie again putting the Gophers in the lead a minute later, drawing a foul after a putback attempt with 12 seconds left. McKenzie made both shots to give the Gophers a 66-65 lead.

Minnesota called its final time out to set up its defense, while Little Rock used the time to diagram a play and insert backup guard Steven Moore in place of starting point guard Buddy Harding. “Stevie Moore, anytime in transition he’s very good, and that’s why I got him in the game,” said Little Rock coach Steve Shields.

Moore brought the ball into the front court, split two defenders, and eschewed a pass out to Terrance Akins on the perimeter, instead putting up a floater on the run in the lane. The ball hit the front and back of the rim, before caroming back on the glass and through the hoop for put the Trojans back in front with 4.9 seconds left.

Limar Wilson took Spencer Tollackson’s inbound pass and raced downcourt. “Our transition defense wasn’t as crisp as it needed to be at that point,” said Shields. “Wilson made a tremendous play by getting the ball quick off the outlet, getting the length of the floor. [Little Rock guard De’Andre] Eggins did a good job of getting back in the paint to secure the paint.”

Although he appeared to have a good defensive position, Eggins was called for a blocking foul, sending Wilson to the line with a chance to tie and/or take the lead. He did neither. His first shot clanked off the front of the rim. The Trojans called a time out to try and ice Wilson, who then had his second free throw rattle off and fall to the floor as the game ended.

The Gophers dropped to 4-6 with the loss while Little Rock evened its record at 5-5.