Gophers Lose Tight One in Michigan, 82-80

Coach Molinari finally found to get some scoring production from the Gopher bench”¦by filling it with starters. Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie both came off the bench, and they both wound up leading the team with 18 points apiece. Coleman’s shot was a little off for much of the game (he was 7 for 17 overall), but he did have a game-high 8 rebounds and was really the only Gopher who did a good job on the glass. McKenzie had his best all-around offensive performance of the season, dishing out 7 assists (with just 1 turnover) while shooting 50% from the field. He found about the perfect shoot/pass balance, so hopefully that will continue.

Spencer Tollackson was a very efficient 5 for 7 from the field and scored 10 points. The problem was that he only played 23 minutes before fouling out. Were it not for that, I think the Gophers win this game (but note: better defense would have gotten them a win regardless). Foul #4 was all on Spencer, as he foolishly reached in on a play he had no chance to stop. Foul #5 on the other hand”¦let’s just call it questionable.

Jamal Abu-Shamala scored 11 points in 19 minutes and hit some very big three-pointers. Limar Wilson had a strong game with 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting, including a couple of very impressive drives to the bucket. And Brandon Smith has a solid game with 7 points in 16 minutes. He’s starting to play with much more confidence.

Minnesota actually led this game by 9 points at halftime, 42-33. That means they gave up 49 points in the second half. Ouch. The worst stat in my mind is that only 9 of those 49 Michigan points came from behind the arc, meaning this wasn’t the result of hot outside shooting. For the most part, the Wolverines broke down the Gopher defense off of penetration and passing. It’s too bad, because this would have been a very nice confidence-boosting victory.

Here’s the box score.

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