Minnesota Rattles by Georgia
Saturday, November 30, 2002

    

Shot . . . Buzzer . . . Rattle . . . Drop.

That sequence of events gave the Minnesota Gophers a 72-69 win over the 18th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in front of 13,417 fans at Williams Arena on Saturday, November 30. Michael Bauer, whose status was doubtful because of a shoulder injured in practice, connected on a three-point basket as time ran out.

His shot followed a three-pointer by Georgia’s Jarvis Hayes that tied the game, 69-69, with 14.7 seconds left. Minnesota called time out, and coach Dan Monson diagrammed a play, albeit not the one that ended up being used. “The worst-case scenario was that we’d go to overtime. We couldn’t shoot too early.” However, Monson thought point-guard Kevin Burleson, who took the inbounds pass with 10.5 seconds left and dribbled as time ran down, was overly cautious about starting the play. “He thought it was a bit too early, so he didn’t really separate space, so now Mike [Bauer] came up his back and just had to make an individual play.”

The Gophers, who were beaten badly last year by the Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia, got off to a quick start in this one, forcing Georgia coach Jim Harrick to call a time out fewer than four minutes into the game as Minnesota surged to a 14-4 lead. The shooting of senior guard Ezra Williams got the Bulldogs back in to the game as he hit on six field goals, including one three-pointer. Minnesota went to the locker room with a 37-32 lead.

For the Gophers, Rick Rickert had 11 points in the first half, but the 6-11 sophomore missed all five of his field-goal attempts in the second half and didn’t score again until going to the free-throw line with 34 seconds left in the game. Georgia’s big gun also cooled down as Williams was 0-for-6 from the field and held scoreless in the second half.

However, junior Jarvis Hayes scored 18 of his game-high 21 points after intermission as the Bulldogs chipped away and the Gophers hung on until Georgia’s Rashad Wright buried a three-pointer with 6:45 to play to tie the game, 56-56. The score stayed tied as Bauer and Damien Wilkins swapped lay ups; the Bulldogs finally took their first lead of the game as Wilkins made the first of two free throws before missing the second.

Holman then made a pair of trips to the line, making three of four, to put Minnesota back in front, 61-59. After Hayes scored to tie the game, Burleson sank a three-point basket for a 64-61 lead with 3:12 to play. Holman fouled Chris Daniels, but Daniels missed both of his free-throw attempts. Burleson then hit another three-pointer for a 67-61 lead with just over a minute-and-a-half to play.

“Our shot selection was good,” said Monson. “Our guards took them [three-point shots] after we explored inside. One of the things we put on the board before the game is we have to think inside before we go outside. We searched the inside and we struggled in there, but we at least searched it before we went and jacked perimeter shots.”

With under a minute left, the Gophers held a 68-63 edge when Hayes muscled in a shot from close range, drawing a foul (by Holman, his fifth of the game) and converting the free throw, the three-point play making it a 68-66 game.

The Gophers missed a shot but kept the ball alive with a rebound by Rickert, who was then fouled. Rickert’s first attempt from the line was long, the ball bouncing off the back of the rim and missing a chance to make it a two-possession game for the Bulldogs. Rickert made his second shot, and the Bulldogs, now trailing by three, came downcourt with a half-a-minute to play.

Georgia worked the ball inside but backed off. Hayes got the ball on the left wing and hit his three-pointer to tie the game. As the Gophers scrambled with time running out at the other end, it looked like the game was headed to overtime. But Bauer’s shot set off a raucous on-court celebration.

“We got a bounce,” said Monson after the game. “When you have a team that’s learning and growing, you need bounces. It’s not all going to be perfect.”

Noting that his Bulldogs are missing an inside presence with the absence of injured center Steve Thomas, Harrick said, “We had to play uphill all the game, and that takes a lot of effort and energy.

“We did a great job on Rickert in the second half. They did a great job on Ezra Williams in the second half. We lost Burleson and they lost Jarvis Hayes. It was a great, great game.”

As for Monson, he characterized the contest as a “toughness win” for his team. “It wasn’t pretty. It was finding a way to win, which is what competitors and good teams do.

“This time of year, I told our players it’s great we won that game, but at this time of year the important thing is you have to measure yourself on is improvement. If you’re just going by wins and losses, you’re fooling yourself.”

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