Men’s basketball: Gophers blown out by Boilermakers after hanging tough in first half

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It may not be the same team that won the Big Ten the previous two seasons or appeared in the national championship game last year — two-time Naismith College Player of the Year Zach Edey has since moved on to the NBA — but this version of the Purdue Boilermakers is still plenty formidable.

And after hanging tough with Purdue for more than half the game, Minnesota could hold on no longer, losing pace in the second half on its way to an 81-61 loss on Thursday night at Williams Arena.

Tied 35-all just a few minutes into the second half, No. 20 Purdue rattled off a 7-0 run and never looked back as the Gophers lost their third straight Big Ten game, all by double digits.

The Gophers were led by senior Dawson Garcia, who poured in 20 points in the loss. Lu’Cye Patterson added another 14. But Mike Mitchell Jr., who entered the day averaging 13.3 points and had 22 in Minnesota’s last game, finished with just four in the blowout loss. He was 2 for 10 shooting on the day and 0 for 6 in 3-point attempts.

The Gophers struggled for much of the night at the free-throw line and beyond the arc. The Boilermakers, meanwhile, took off in the second half, knocking down their threes. They finished with nine in the second half alone.

Braden Smith had a team-high five of them for Purdue, finishing the day with 20 points and adding 10 assists. Fletcher Loyer had a game-high 24 points and Trey Kaufman-Renn added 17.

The loss sends the Gophers, who will next host Ohio State on Monday, to 8-6 on the season and 0-3 in conference play. The team remains winless against ranked opponents under coach Ben Johnson, who took over ahead of the 2021-22 season.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/men-basketball-gophers-blown-boilermakers-033200317.html

Author : Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Publish date : 2025-01-03 03:32:00

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