Blocks and Big First Half Push Gophers Past Jackrabbits
December 11, 2008

The Minnesota Gophers went big with a starting lineup that included freshmen treetops Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III and used a big first half that held up for a 74-60 win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

A quick start gave the Gophers an 11-0 lead as all five starters (Damian Johnson, Jamal Abu-Shamala, and Al Nolen were the others) connected on field goals before the Jackrabbits finally hit the board on a three-point basket by Clint Sargent nearly five-and-a-half minutes into the game.

The Gophers, after struggling on the boards early, got stronger on rebounding as the game progressed, finishing the first half with 10 offensive rebounds and a 20-13 overall rebounding average over South Dakota State. At one point, the Minnesota lead reached 19, and the Gophers went into intermission with a 39-24 lead. Minnesota made 56.2 percent of its shots from the floor in the first half, although they were much weaker from the line, making just one of five free throws.

“I thought the first half cost us the game,” said South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy. “In that half, we gave them 25 points off turnovers and second-chance shots. We are just not going to beat people with those kind of numbers.”

The Jackrabbits cut the lead to single digits early in the second half and trailed 45-36 with 14:24 left when Minnesota coach Tubby Smith made an en masse substitution and re-inserted his starters. The teams then exchanged a flurry of field goals, but the Jackrabbits, helped by three-pointers by Sargent and Garrett Callahan, got the lead down to five points on a couple of occasions. The score was 53-48 for Minnesota when the second media timeout of the half, with 10:53 remaining, occurred.

Following the timeout, Damian Johnson, a 6-foot-7 junior from Louisiana, led a surge with rebounds and several baskets. In between, he got one of his five blocked shots in the game (and one of 14 for the Gophers), charging in to stuff a three-point attempt by Mackenzie Casey and starting a fast-break that ended with Johnson scoring to put the Gophers back into a double-digit lead at 65-54. The Jackrabbits made no further threats, and the game ended with Minnesota upping its nonconference record to 9-0.

Johnson led Minnesota scorers with 21 points, a career high for him, even though he made only one of four free throws. “I think I was ready to perform and I was focused before and during the game,” he said. “I didn’t let things distract me. I didn’t let things like not hitting a free throw affect my game.”

On playing in the front court alongside Sampson and Iverson, Johnson said, “Those guys work really well together. Two 6-foot-1-inch guys working together is hard to stop.”

Smith noted that having Johnson on the wing is his natural position. “He showed a lot of versatility, putting it on the floor and driving to the basket. He also stopped the bleeding a couple of times with some big shots.”

Al Nolen, who led the Gophers with 11 assists, eight rebounds, and three steals, also commented on the tall lineup and its impact. “I think Ralph and Colton have great chemistry. They don’t usually play together but they showed tonight what they can do and what to look for in the future. When SDSU drove to the basket, Colton and Ralph were there to block the shots so we really need that.”

Colton and Iverson each had four blocked shots in the game. “We started a bigger lineup with Ralph Sampson III tonight,” said Smith. “I thought they did some good things for us tonight.”

The Jackrabbits turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and 20 times overall. “Our turnovers did not come in the press,” said Nagy. “They mostly came from mistakes in the half-court when we drove to the basket. There were some charges and we also threw the ball into the stands. It was more things like that in the half-court. I don’t remember a turnover we had in the backcourt. In terms of the press, it was mostly that we did not get it done in our half-court offense.”

The high scorer for the Jackrabbits was Sargent, who came off the bench to score 25 points. He was four-for-eight on three-pointers.