Men’s basketball: Gophers lose finale at Rutgers but will play in Big Ten tournament

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Minnesota rallied from two double-digit deficits to force overtime, but did little right in the extra frame in a 75-67 loss Saturday to Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.

Rutgers scored 10 of the first 12 points in overtime, hitting 3 of 4 field goals and all four of its free throws, while Minnesota turned the ball over twice and managed only a driving layup by Dawson Garcia to fall behind 71-63 with a minute left.

Luc’Eye Patterson made a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left but it was entirely too late to make much difference as the Gophers finished the season under .500, 15-16 overall, and 7-13 in the Big Ten.

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Jordan Derkack sealed it for the Scarlet Knights (15-16, 8-12) with a slam dunk and 3 seconds left on the clock at Jersey Mike’s Arena.

The Gophers lost four of their last five regular season games but advanced to the Big Ten conference tournament on a tiebreaker courtesy of road victories over Southern Cal and Nebraska.

Dawson Garcia scored a team-high 19 points and added eight rebounds, and Frank Mitchell finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Gophers, who will start tournament play on Wednesday in Indianapolis as the No. 12 seed with a 2:30 p.m. tip against Northwestern.

Minnesota didn’t help itself with its details, missing 10 free throws (13 for 23) and committing 15 turnovers, two in the decisive overtime run that Rutgers turned into points.

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“I thought some of the turnovers that we had were (because of Rutgers), but I thought some of them were us, just playing loose and playing off balance,” coach Ben Johnson told reporters after the game.

Dylan Harper had six points, a steal and an assist in overtime and scored a game-high 22 points for Rutgers, which also will play in the conference tournament.

The Gophers had a 21-18 lead with 7:41 remaining in the first half, but the Scarlet Knights clamped down and finished the frame with a 20-8 run for an 11-point lead at intermission. Jeremiah Williams’ jump shot to open the second half made…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/men-basketball-gophers-lose-finale-202100502.html

Author : Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Publish date : 2025-03-09 20:21:00

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