MINNEAPOLIS — In the second game of the Border Battle series, the Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team, 51-46 at The Barn Wednesday.
In the teams’ first match, the Gophers came back from 13 points down in the second half to stun the Badgers in overtime at the Kohl Center, 78-74. This time, while Minnesota did not have to come back from a large deficit in the second half, it did have to withstand a Badger rally that overcame a seven-point lead to get back into the game.
Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan believes while the comeback was impressive in itself, the energy used to get back into the game exhausted the Badgers down the stretch. Wisconsin held a five-point lead with 2:47 left but did not score for the rest of the game.
“The fact that we could come back — I don’t know if we had anything left, to be honest with you,” Ryan said. “I’m not trying to make that excuse for my players but at the end, the energy that it just took for us to get into the game and get some things going, I think it took its toll at the end.”
UW senior forward Marcus Landry, who hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 18 points had different thoughts on the comeback and failing to hold on to a short-lived lead.
“It’s not an excuse I’m willing to have on my plate,” Landry said. “That’s what we run the hill for, that’s what we do those things for — for these types of games where you’re giving your all down to the end, and you have to be mentally focused to fight through that. I think we let some things get away from us down the stretch that kind of cost us the game.”
In the first half, the Badgers shot an abysmal 25 percent from the field, hitting only five field goals. While they were struggling, Minnesota shot 44 percent to open up a seven-point halftime lead.
In the second half however, Wisconsin began to find its stride, eventually tying the game at 33-33 with 9:28 left in the game. Although UW guard Tr?von Hughes struggled from the field with only two field goals, he found an open Landry in the corner on a drive and dish that gave the Badgers some needed momentum.
“We put the ball in [Hughes’] hands at the end,” Ryan said. “He got us back into the game, got us the lead with his assists, the way he was playing defense.”
A jump shot and a free throw by Hughes gave the Badgers their five-point lead, but just like in the teams’ first match in Madison, Minnesota guard Lawrence Westbrook took over the game, scoring all 10 points on the Gophers’ 10-0 run to put an end to the Badgers’ comeback attempt.
“Westbrook blows by Bohannon, blows by Jordan [Taylor],” Ryan said. “[Westbrook] was the guy that got the ball and he made the free throws. So he got the last 10 points because he was the guy that was going to carry you at the free throw line, and he did.”
“You know what, he made plays,” Hughes added. “That’s what happened. Down the stretch, he made plays.”
Wisconsin did have a chance to tie the game with just over five seconds left, but an errant inbound pass to Hughes slipped out of his hands, essentially sealing the game for the Gophers.
“Yeah, I’ve got to catch that one,” Hughes said. “You know, I just took my eyes off of it. Should have kept my eye on it.”
Following the game, Ryan commented on the toughness displayed by both teams. While the Gophers came out on top, he commended the Badgers for fighting to get back into the match.
“I like the way they fought. I saw some things I liked, and there’s obviously some things we have to get better at,” Ryan said. “A lot of grit out there, on both sides. Hard-fought game. I like being in these kind of games.”
