Backcourt delivers in Gophers' narrow win over Michigan

Elijah Hawkins and Mike Mitchell Jr. combined for 32 points in the victory.

Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson knew it would take some time for transfer additions Elijah Hawkins and Mike Mitchell Jr. to get comfortable in a new offense, even if Johnson would've preferred it happen immediately. 

He doesn't have to wait any longer. It's clear they're pretty comfortable now.

Mitchell and Hawkins were the driving force behind the Gophers’ 73-71 victory over Michigan Thursday night in Ann Arbor, Mich. Mitchell scored a game-high 18 points and Hawkins had 14 points and seven assists as the Gophers won their sixth straight.

The duo of Mitchell and Hawkins has transformed the Gophers’ backcourt and it’s evident both players have found their grooves in the offense over the course of Minnesota’s six-game winning streak.

"(Hawkins) is rolling and we're running his way," Johnson said in his postgame television interview. "He's made really good plays. The game's slowed down for him. He's a big factor of why we're being successful right now." 

Mitchell scored nine points in the first half and Hawkins had eight, but the Gophers (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) still went into the break down four as Tarris Reed Jr. was a force for the Wolverines (6-8, 1-2), recording 10 points and six boards in the opening 20 minutes.

Reed finished with 14 points but limped off the court late in the second half. Nimari Burnett paced the Michigan offense with 17 points, and Olivier Nkamhoua scored 16 for the Wolverines.

Braeden Carrington returned to the Gophers lineup after missing the team’s last three games while on leave for mental health. He played just nine minutes off the bench and had two points and two rebounds, his one basket being a key putback in the second half.

Both Mitchell and Hawkins were knocking down shots from long range, hitting four shots apiece from deep. That gave Dawson Garcia and Pharrel Payne room to go to work on the inside, and they scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Garcia, in his second game back from an ankle injury, struggled again early but appeared to find his rhythm in the second half. He shot just 5 of 17 for the game. Payne, who played well in Garcia’s absence, provided Minnesota with an extra boost in the paint with his 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and he also grabbed eight boards. Garcia had 12 rebounds on the night, and the last one was pretty important.

Hawkins found Josh Ola-Joseph under the basket with just over 30 seconds remaining that put the Gophers up 73-69, but Michigan wasn't done yet. 

With 10 seconds remaining and down 73-71, Nkamhou missed an open 3-pointer that would have put the Wolverines ahead by one. The ball went out of bounds off the Gophers, and Michigan had one more chance to tie or win the game.

Dug McDaniel drove into the paint in the waning seconds and shot a floater that bounced off the rim and into the hands of Garcia on the rebound, which officially closed out an impressive Minnesota victory. 

"I think we have a ton of belief, we just gotta keep worrying about the day at hand," Johnson said. "Tomorrow we gotta worry about having a really good practice. Worry about Maryland. Celebrate this one, but we gotta keep our focus. Pretty simple."