Gopher Basketball
Minnesota struggled early on, plagued by a near-lethal combination of poor shot selection, weak rebounding, and a lackluster defense. At the mid-point of the first half the Bison were out shooting the Gophers 67% to 25%. The Gophers were not without opportunity, as the Bison gave the game away, literally, with 26 turnovers.
In the final minutes of the first half, Vincent Grier stepped into the leadership role many expect him to take this year. He brought the Gophers their first lead nearly 13 minutes in to the game. Minutes later he scored on three consecutive trips to the basket. From that point forward, Grier seemed to step up his defensive efforts and his teammates followed suit. Grier led the team with 21 points.
The second half looked as though it might start similar to the first as the Bison came within a basket with 16:50 left in the game. This time; however, the Gophers seemed to find themselves a little more quickly, outscoring the Bison 13-3 over the next few minutes.
Moe Hargow turned in another characteristically strong evening with 14. His seven assists reflect the unselfish ball movement that was prevalent between the two leading scorers. Grier dished the ball five times. Indeed the loudest thunder the Bison heard was following a monster alley-oop dunk from Hargrow to Grier that was the culmination of a Gopher’s 8-0 run. If you missed the game, I hope you set your Ti-Vo for this highlight-reel clip.
Monson started J’son Stamper in place of Spencer Tollackson, and as a result the Gophers struggled down low. The team might have racked-up several more assists were it not for a few key misses inside. Spencer Tollackson had a decent performance of the bench, earning him “œSub of the Game” honors. His nine points were the result of some pretty assists and one Rickert-esque turn-around jumper.
As the first game came to a close, Gopher fans were treated to highlights that won’t make the evening news. The first was an enormous swat from behind by freshman Jonathan Williams. The new video scoreboard at the arena perfectly captured the unexpecting Bison shooter’s look of confusion as the ball simply disappeared. The second was the soft-touch of Jamal Abu-Shamala as he hit a three-pointer in the closing minutes of the game. The basket quickly brought worshipful chants from the impressively-packed Barnyard.
This early in the season, it is safe to say that most teams play with a few creaks they need to work out. Indeed Minnesota appeared to be no exception on Friday night. For the majority of those in attendance, with the more pressing reality of Saturday’s football game at Iowa looming overhead, a squeaky start seemed to be enough. While the Gopher’s have a long week to prepare, in reality it is only a short while before their competition becomes noticeably stronger. Gopher fans can only hope the team will have tuned up enough in time for the season’s first real challenge, November 30 at Maryland.