Gophers Overcome Slow Start to Beat North Florida 87-59
December 1, 2012

The Minnesota Gophers, ranked 21st in the country and coming off wins against Memphis and Stanford in the Battle for Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas, had early trouble with the North Florida Ospreys before a 15-point run erased a deficit en route to an 87-59 win.

Rodney Williams, who had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, called the beginning a “hiccup,” noting that the Gophers had avoided slow starts in its other games. “The first five in the game started out real flat, so we have to give a lot of credit to our second five and showed us what we needed to do to get the win.”

With the Ospreys leading 12-6, the second five of Julian Welch, Maverick Ahanmisi, Trevor Mbakwe, Mo Walker, and Oto Osenieks replaces starters Williams, Elliott Eliason, Austin Hollins, Joe Coleman, and Andre Hollins with 14:27 left in the first half. Despite full-court pressure, North Florida increased its lead to 18-10 when all but Eliason came back after the media time out at 11:42.

Williams started the comeback with a steal and three-point play. North Florida held a 21-15 lead midway through the half when Minnesota pressure forced the Ospreys into turnovers and cold shooting, keeping them scoreless for more than seven-and-a-half minutes.

Meanwhile, the Gophers were strong on the boards, especially on the offensive end. Austin Hollins tied the game with a putback dunk on his fourth offensive rebound of the

game, then stole the ball and drove for a layup to put the Gophers ahead to stay. “Coach talked to us,” said Hollins, “and we picked up energy and intensity on defense.”

When Andre Hollins scored off another turnover for a 27-21 lead, Ospreys coach Matthew Driscoll called his third time out of the half. The Minnesota lead reached 30-21 before Bae Bae Daniels broke the North Florida drought with a three-point basket with 2:48 left.

Helped by 14 offensive rebounds and a 25-17 overall rebounding edge, Minnesota built a 37-27 halftime lead. The Ospreys had 11 turnovers in the first half and another 11 in the second half, which the Gophers dominated.

For the game, Minnesota outscored North Florida 27-13 off on offensive rebounds, 31-5 off turnovers, and 39-11 in bench scoring. Led by Williams, four Gophers scored in double figures (Coleman, Austin Hollins, and Mbakwe being the others). “Guys really like to share the sugar on this team,” said Driscoll.

Parker Smith led North Florida with 22 points, and Travis Wallace had 17.

Back to Main Page