Gophers Beat Penn State 65-60
Saturday, January 27, 2007

Minnesota coach Jim Molinari inserted Kevin Payton into the starting lineup for a defensive presence. He got that—and more—as the Gophers defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions, 65-60. In addition to shutting down the Lions’ Danny Morrissey in the second half, holding the sophomore to one three-point basket, Payton came through with 12 points, eight in the second half, and eight assists in the game.

Payton was on the floor for all but two minutes of the game as the Gophers’ other point guard, Limar Wilson, was available only for emergency duty after missing a couple days of practice with an illness. Another player Minnesota counts on for defense, Jonathan Williams, came through at both ends of the court as he scored 13 points while pulling down 14 rebounds, 5 of them off the offensive boards.

The Nittany Lions shot well in the opening minutes and had 25 points midway through the first half. From there, however, the Minnesota defense tightened. The Gophers fell behind by as much as eight points, but a 14-4 run over the final seven minutes of the first half gave them a 35-33 lead.

With an 11-3 run to start the second half, Minnesota opened a 10-point lead. Penn State connected on a couple of three-point baskets, one by Morrissey and the other by its leading scorer and rebounder, Geary Claxton, and eventually closed the gap to one point. But the Lions couldn’t get the basket to put them ahead, and the Gophers re-established their lead, holding a comfortable margin into the final minute. Another three-pointer by Claxton with 1 second left made the final score closer, although Minnesota was in control in the closing minutes.

”We just couldn’t make any shots in the second half,” said Penn State coach Ed DeChellis. The Nittany Lions made only 27.6 of their shots from the field in the second half. Penn State outrebounded the Gophers, 35-31, in the game and had 16 offensive rebounds. However, DeChellis said, “We just couldn’t get any to go back in the basket.”

Lawrence McKenzie led the Gophers with 19 points and have five three-point baskets. Dan Coleman was the other Minnesota player in double figures, with 11 points.

Claxton led all scorers with 20 points, although he made only 4 of 16 shots from the field (two of them three-pointers). Half of Claxton’s points were on free throws as he made 10 of 13 from the line. He also led the Lions with 12 rebounds, including eight offensivve rebounds.

The Gophers improved their Big Ten record to 2-5 while Penn State dropped to a 1-6 conference mark.