Gopher Basketball
A minor disciplinary move by Coach Monson (Aaron Robinson was a few minutes late to a recent practice) led to Rico Tucker’s insertion into the starting lineup. That move paid dividends immediately as Tucker exploded out of the gates scoring the games first six points, the last two came off a thunderous rebound dunk after a Jeff Hagen missed field goal.
Tucker’s offensive and defensive intensity spilled over to his teammates and the crowd as the Gophers cruised to a 20-4 lead seven minutes into the game. Vincent Grier continued to showcase his athleticism in the open court and twice brought Gopher fans to their feet with acrobatic dunks.
The Spartans cut the lead to 20-10 after a mini 6-0 run, but a three-pointer by Robinson and back-to-back Grier three-pointers opened up a 29-10 Gopher lead and they never looked back. Five Gophers (Grier, Robinson, Tucker, Dan Coleman and Brent Lawson) all made three-point field goals in the first half, and Hagen hit a slashing Spencer Tollackson for a thunderous dunk capping off an up-tempo first half as the Gophers led 51-27 as they shot 67.7% from the field.
The second half was more of the same as hustle, defensive pressure and teamwork led to a huge 16-4 Gopher run. Grier and Coleman added three-pointers and Grier and Tucker added a few floor burns as the Gopher crowd was brought to its feet three times in the first few minutes in the second half.
Grier, Tucker, Coleman and a workman-like game from Hagen led to blowout as the Gophers led by 40 points late in the game before closing out the 35-point win.
Grier continued to lead the way for the Gophers as he netted a career-high 25 points on 9/13 from the field (3/4 from three-point land) and added four assists and three steals in just 24 minutes of play. Grier’s most important role was his hustle. He brought Gopher fans to their feet with his floor burns and an acrobatic block where he came out of nowhere.
Tucker’s fast start did not slow down as finished with 15 points (tying a career high) on 6/10 shooting. Coleman regained much of his confidence on the offensive end as he scored 12 points on 5/7 shooting. Hagen added nine points and five rebounds. Jordan Nuness even got into the act as he drained two late three-point baskets and finished with six points.
Ronnie Burrell led the way for the Spartans with 19 points and four rebounds.
Improving to 8-3, the Gophers did commit way too many turnovers (24), but took another step towards creating a team identity ““ hustle, defensive pressure and most importantly TEAMWORK. In fact, the Gophers had seven possessions in which all five guys on the floor touched the ball on the offensive end.
The Gophers ring in the New Year on Saturday, January 1 when they host Coppin State at 1:00 pm.
As 2004 comes to a close, 2005 embarks a new year full of cautious optimism, and it looks like the New Years resolution of having fun and playing as a team is off to an early start.