Gophers Wilt in Second Half
January 23, 2018

Off to a promising 40-34 halftime lead over the formidable Northwestern Wildcats at Williams Arena, the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team lost their way in the second half and were outscored by 14 points, eventually losing by the score of 77 to 69,

“We got tired,” was the simple answer given by coach Richard Pitino after the game. “We couldn’t make shots when needed to, couldn’t get rebounds, and couldn’t make stops on the defensive end.”

The suspension of Reggie Lynch forced Pitino to switch power forward Jordan Murphy to center, and Murphy wasn’t up to the task. “Northwestern is a physical team,” Pitino observed. “Murph is only six-five. That’s tough.” A double-double machine at power forward, Murphy could only muster nine rebounds and 10 points playing the post.

Shifting Murphy meant the inadequate Davonte Fitzgerald logged in three points in 24 minutes of court time. The bench was of no help, yielding only a total of five points.

Nagging injuries continue to plague the starting trio of Nate Mason, DuPree McBrayer, and Amir Coffey, although Mason hit for 25 points before going cold with nine minutes left in the game. Coffey finished with 15 points.

Minnesota clung to a 56-54 lead when Scottie Lindsey swished a three-pointer with 11 minutes left to go, and the Wildcats were off to the races. The lead went to 64-59 on a Bryant McIntosh layup with 5:20 left, and the Gophers were cooked. The lead went to 70-63 with two and one-half minutes left.

“We wore down in the second half,” explained the coach.

“They’re all giving everything they got, but we need to play smarter.”