Gophers Stumble But Survive
December 23, 2008

Coming off an impressive win over the Louisville Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., which gained the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team national ranking (23rd in the land), the Gophers put on a less-than-sterling performance in Williams Arena Tuesday night, but it was enough to overcome Southeastern Louisiana of the Southland Conference by 80-71

Located in Hammond, La., on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain, 55 miles north of New Orleans and 45 miles east of Baton Rouge, Southeastern Lousiana University was founded in 1925 but did engage in varsity men’s basketball games until 1947 when the Lions played a home-and-home series against the Bogalusa Gaylords. SE Louisiana split the series with the vaunted Gaylords. For years, the Lions didn’t stray outside the borders of Louisiana, except for the occasional foray into the state of Mississippi.

SE Louisiana broadened its horizons with the team’s entrance into the Southland Conference 11 years ago. Other Southland members include Northwestern State, Central Arkansas, UT Arlington, UT San Antonio, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The Lions arrived at Williams Arena having lost games this season to Lipscomb, Texas Tech, and Florida Atlantic and appeared to pose no threat to the high-riding and unbeaten Gophers under coach Tubby Smith.

Perhaps it was due to excessive reading by the Gopher players of their own press clippings or anticipation of the upcoming Christmas break, but Minnesota came out of the gate uninspired against SE Louisiana. While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads during the first half, the Gophers were out-hustled by the plucky gang from the Bayou State. Lacking most of the intensity displayed against Louisville, the Gopher defense uncharacteristically allowed the Lions to penetrate into the paint for easy shots. On this night, SE Louisiana was the quicker team on the floor. Deshawn Patterson scored and was fouled by Colton Iverson. Patterson’s free throw gave the Lions a 14-11 lead. Midway in the first half the Gophers caught up on a field goal by Damian Johnson but the lead changed hands 11 times in the period. A three-point field goal by Travis Busch put Minnesota in the lead, 40-36, at the halfway point.

After the game coach Smith was asked if his Gophers were overconfident. Tubby shrugged and said: “They’re human. They read the paper. And they listen to everybody patting them on the back.” There is no doubt, however, that the coach did more than back-patting in his halftime address to the troops. Smith has a way of pointing out mistakes and forcefully suggesting ways to prevent them from reoccurring.

The Gophers raced to a 10-point lead in the second half but seemed to ease up while engaged in the process of undergoing multiple player substitutions.

“I think we blocked the crowd noise out of our minds pretty well,” said Southeastern Louisiana head coach Jim Yarbrough after the game. “The one thing that killed was every time we got the score within six or seven they’d pull away.”

Yarbrough immediately noticed a change in Minnesota’s intensity in the second half. “That really bothered us and got them a working margin.” SE Louisiana managed to shave the Gopher lead to six points at 52-46 on a fast-break dunk by Kevyn Green. “We settled down,” said Yarbrough, “but we never came all the way back. [Minnesota] continued to play, run, and put pressure on both sides of the ball. It’s not a game where they just took over but they just did enough to keep that margin.”

The lead remained in single digits until baskets by Johnson and Iverson gave Minnesota a 72-59 advantage, and the Gophers hung on for the victory over a previously unheralded team that on this night was the faster team. The Lions were able to dribble-drive successfully. In addition, SE Louisiana out-rebounded Minnesota by 31 to 28.

“They were very athletic,” Smith observed. “We tried to get them under control, and we couldn’t always beat them off the dribble. They were quick and athletic, and we had to really work hard to get in their face on shots.”

Bench players Lawrence Westbrook and Blake Hoffarber logged considerably more playing time than starters Jamal Abu-Shamala and Ralph Sampson III. Westbrook and Hoffarber led the team in scoring with 15 points each. Hoffarber had three 3-pointers, each at a critical juncture of play. Meanwhile, Green topped all scorers with 22 for SE Louisiana.

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