Box Score MINNEAPOLIS – Lawrence Westbrook and Blake Hoffarber each came off the bench to score 15 points and No. 23-ranked Minnesota used a 6-0 run to open the second half and hold off Southeastern Louisiana, 80-71, before a national television audience Tuesday night at Williams Arena.
Thibodaux's Damian Johnson added 13 points for Minnesota (11-0), playing its first game since a 70-64 win over then No. 9-ranked Louisville and off to its best start since 1976-77. Southeastern, playing the first of four straight games on the road, fell to 6-5 on the season.
“I think the intensity that Minnesota always starts the second half with really bothered us and got them a bit of a working margin,” Southeastern head coach
Jim Yarbrough said. “Minnesota came in and we settled down but we never came all the way back. It's amazing how a ball game can turn around within two minutes and it's very difficult if they continue to play, run, and put pressure on both sides of the ball. It's not a game where they just took over but they just did enough to keep that margin.”
The first half featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes with Southeastern taking its biggest lead, 14-11, on a three-point play by
DeShawn Patterson with 11:24 remaining in the first half. The teams traded buckets before two free throws by Hoffarber with 1:21 remaining gave Minnesota the lead for good, 35-33.
After Hoffarber hit a jumper to put the Golden Gophers ahead, 37-33,
Patrick Sullivan cut the lead to 37-36 with a three-point play. But Minnesota upped its lead to 40-36 at halftime as Westbrook drove the lane and passed to a wide open Travis Busch, who drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Golden Gophers came out in the second half, making their first three shots as Westbrook scored on a layup, Johnson added a putback and Ralph Sampson scored on a jumper in the lane for a 46-36 lead.
Southeastern got as close as five points twice, the last on a three-point play by
Kevyn Green with 16:00 left, but Minnesota pushed the lead back to double digits as Jamal Abu-Shamala and Devoe Joseph each hit 3-pointers and Jonathan Williams hit a short jumper for a 57-46 lead.
“They (Southeastern) were very athletic,” Minnesota coach Tubby Smith said. “We tried to get them under control and we couldn't always beat them off the dribble. They were quick and athletic and we had to really work hard to get in their face on shots.”
Green led Southeastern with 22 points while Sullivan added 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. The Lions finished 27-for-56 (48 percent) from the floor, but went 5-for-18 (28 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
The Lions held a 31-28 advantage on the boards against Minnesota, which shot 58 percent (15-for-26) in the second half and 52 percent (29-for-56) for the game.
Southeastern returns to action after the Christmas holiday when it faces SEC opponent Auburn on New Year's Eve at 5 p.m.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (6-5)
Green 7-18 6-7 22; Sullivan 7-9 1-1 15; Span 4-8 0-0 9; Fortenberry 2-5 4-5 8; Tibbs 3-6 0-0 7; Pope 2-3 0-0 4; Cyprian 1-5 0-0 3; Patterson 1-1 1-1 3; Forest 0-1 0-0 0; Ndoumba 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-56 12-14 71.
MINNESOTA (11-0)
Westbrook 4-10 5-5 15; Hoffarber 5-7 2-2 15; Johnson 6-10 1-2 13; Iverson 3-5 2-2 8; Busch 2-2 1-2 6; Williams 3-3 0-0 6; Abu-Shamala 2-5 0-1 5; Sampson 2-5 0-0 4; Nolen 1-6 2-2 4; Joseph 1-3 1-3 4; Bostick 0-0 0-0 0; Carter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-56 14-19 80.
Halftime – Minnesota 40, SLU 36. 3-point goals – SLU 5-18 (Green 2-9; Cyprian 1-4; Span 1-1; Tibbs 1-1; Forest 0-1; Fortenberry 0-2), Minnesota 8-18 (Hoffarber 3-4; Westbrook 2-4; Busch 1-1; Joseph 1-3; Abu-Shamala 1-3; Nolen 0-2; Johnson 0-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds – SLU 31 (Sullivan 9), Minnesota 28 (Four with 4). Assists – SLU 17 (Sullivan 4), Minnesota 19 (Nolen 8). Total fouls – SLU 20, Minnesota 15. Technical fouls - None. A – 12,625.
