Gophers Upset Boilermakers
March 5, 2019

Led by Amir Coffey’s 32 points, the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team upset Purdue 73-69 before 10,062 screaming fans at Williams Arena.

On February 21, a plan was in place for crowd control if the Gophers knocked off Michigan and fans stormed the court. Unfortunately, that plan was unnecessary as Minnesota meekly fell to the Wolverines 69-60. No such plans were made for the Purdue game, and, led by the student section, a wild outpouring of fans leapt uncontrolled onto the raised court. The last time court-storming took place was after an upset of Maryland in 2016.

During the course of the game, Coffey simply was unstoppable, driving the paint, hitting three 3-pointers, and drawing 11 fouls. He also made 13 free-throw baskets. During the course of the season, there were many games when the son of former Golden Gopher stalwart Richard Coffey would disappear from the action, but against Purdue, he was on fire.

Coffey was aided in his efforts by an unlikely candidate for post-game honors, the seven-foot senior from Oslo, Mats Stockman. Stockman’s emergence was appropriate because it was Senior Night, and he was called on to replace sixth-man Eric Curry, out for the season with a foot injury. Stockman played 24 minutes, scprining nine points and grabbing six rebounds.

“Stockman,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter, “could have been the difference. He gave Minnesota a spark.”

Gopher coach Richard Pitino agreed. “Mats works hard. He was in there at the end because he was playing so well for us.”

After falling behind 11-7 at the start, the Gophers recovered, and a Coffey three-pointer made it 15-14, as Minnesota worked to increase their lead. A Jordan Murphy free throw pushed the lead to five, and a Coffey basket made it 28-22 with five minutes to go in the period. A 9-5 outburst gave the Gophers a 37-27 halftime lead.

“We played poorly in the first half,” lamented Painter. “We allowed Minnesota to get back in transition. And we didn’t show patience on offense. Further, our bench players were making poor decisions.”

The second half produced more consistent Boilermaker play, and a Ryan Cline three-pointer closed the deficit to 41-35. But the Gophers surged a Coffey three-point basket made it 50-38 at the 14:38 mark. But Purdue whittled away at the Gopher lead, as Grady Eifert made a three-pointer at it was 54-50 halfway through the period. A Nojel Eastern free throw tied it at 54 before a pair of Coffey free throws gave Minnesota a 56-54 advantage.

Gabe Kalescheur three-point basket (his only points of the evening) made it 60-54 at 5:45, and the Gophers stretched the lead to nine before the Boilers came storming back as the clock rolled.

With two minutes left in the game, DuPree McBrayer made a pair of free throws to make it 68-61. The lead was 70-65 with only 13 seconds showing on the clock. Then it was 71-66 before Carsen Edwards hit a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining. A disputed out-of-bounds play gave Minnesota the ball with 3.9 seconds showing on the clock.

A pair of Coffey free throws sealed the deal for the Gophers. Purdue, needing one win to tie for the Big Ten championship will have to wait for when the Boilermakers travel to Northwestern on March 9.

“Purdue is a terrific team,” said Pitino, “but we managed to weather the storm.”

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