Gophers Split Exhibition Games with Northern Sun Foes: Romp Over Beavers Followed by Loss to Warriors
Friday, November 3, 2006 and Wednesday, November 8, 2006

The Minnesota Gophers basketball team tuned up for its 2006-07 season with a exhibition games against a pair of Division II teams from the Northern Sun Conference. One barely tested them while the other gave them more than they could handle.

On Friday, November 3, the Gophers cruised to an 88-32 win over the Bemidji State Beavers at Williams Arena. The first exhibition game, said Minnesota coach Dan Monson, “is not about the score. Saturday’s practice will be more important than Friday’s game.”

In particular, Monson noted that the Gophers had assists on 25 of their 35 field goals, an indication of team play, and said he saw “way more positives than negatives.” Monson was happy with the play of point guard Kevin Payton, who had 11 assists in 24 minutes as Limar Wilson, along with another guard, Lawrence McKenzie, missed the game while recovering from injuries.

Payton started in the backcourt with Jamal Abu-Shamala, who had 12 points. Freshman guard Lawrence Westbrook came off the bench to lead all scorers with 21 points. Another reserve, Engen Nurumbi, was the leading rebounder with 13.

The Beavers had 31 turnovers in the game, many on passes around the perimeter that were picked off by the Gophers. They shot only 22.4 percent from the field while allowing Minnesota to make 54.7 percent of its shots. Still, Bemidji State coach Matt Bowen called it “a great experience for us,” while noting that he had eight players in their first game for the Beavers. As the team’s fourth coach in seven years, Bowen added, “I’m just trying to establish a program.”

In contrast, the Gophers’ opponent five nights later, Winona State, had a veteran coach and lineup. Only high-scoring David Zellman was gone from the team that last year had won the Division II national championship, and the Warriors were ranked No. 1 in pre-season polls.

Even so, Mike Leaf, entering his ninth season as Winona State head coach, said, “We just wanted to make a game of it.” However, his focus changed from being competitive to wanting to win as the Warriors held the Gophers scoreless over the last 6:51 of the first half. The Warriors had gone ahead, 28-27, just before the final media time out of the half. In the huddle, Leaf told his players the goal was to go into halftime with the lead, what he called “a stepping stone to give them confidence.”

The Warriors held a 30-27 lead at halftime, along with a 17-15 edge in rebounding. Winona State established greater dominance on the boards in the second half. Center John Smith grabbed eight of his 13 rebounds after the intermission. Along with 14 points, Smith had his third straight double-double of the season, all against Division I opposition. But guards grabbed their share of missed shots, too, in part because of the ability of the front line to crash the boards and tip loose balls out. “We teach them that offensive tip out,” said Leaf.

The Gophers twice took a brief lead in the second half, but Winona State kept its poise. Leaf said the veterans have a calming effect on the entire team in those situations. “There’s a chemistry out there on the floor that I really believe in.” With the score 48-48, senior point guard Zach Malvik put up a shot on the run as the shot clock was expiring to put the Warriors back in front. The Gophers later tied the game but never again were in front.

The game was tied 61-61 into the final minute when Smith went to the line for a one-and-one. The Warriors center had missed two free throws a minute before, but this time he made both his shots. Lawrence McKenzie then missed a long three-pointer for the Gophers, who then began fouling the Warriors. Winona State made enough of its free throws to open its largest lead of the night, at 69-62. A basket by Minnesota’s Dan Coleman in the closing seconds capped the scoring, and Winona State celebrated a 69-64 win over the Gophers.

It was the second win in three games against Division I teams—the Warriors had beaten Drake and lost to Bradley—as four of their starters finished in double figures in scoring: Jonte Flowers with 15, Joe Ingvalson with 11, Smith with 14, and Malvik with 12. The other starter, Quincy Henderson, had nine points.

The Warriors were bolstered by a large cheering section. More than 600 tickets were sold in Winona for the game, and the balconies at both ends of Williams Arena were loaded with Winona State fans, who consistently made more noise throughout the night than did Minnesota fans.

Coleman, with 20 points, and McKenzie, with 13, were the only Gophers in double figures. “I’m glad this was just an exhibition game,” said Monson. “I knew this game would expose what we needed to do to have success in the Big Ten.

”We aren’t physical enough right now. It’s not just rebounding, it’s in setting screens, it’s in not finishing around the basket. We had too many empty trips when we got in the paint.”

The Gophers started a completely different backcourt against the Warriors, going with Wilson and McKenzie. Abu-Shamala was banged up and missed the game. Monson tried a variety of combinations on the court, looking for the right mix among a relatively large group of players who are new to the Gophers. However, he made it clear that “We were trying to win the basketball game” against the Warriors.

Even with the loss, Monson was upbeat about what it meant as the Gophers prepare for their non-conference season. “If it doesn’t hurt our confidence, we can take a lot out of the game.”