Dawson Garcia available for Gophers for Friday's game against Maine

Minnesota gets its leading scorer back as Big Ten play approaches.

Dawson Garcia will be available for the Gophers men’s basketball team’s home game against Maine on Friday, coach Ben Johnson said Thursday.

Garcia started the first nine games of the season but has been out since injuring his ankle during a Dec. 6 home victory over Nebraska. While he's missed the U's last three games, the Gophers have held up in his absence, winning all three nonconference contests.

"For (Garcia) to have really five days off of it and then come back, looks really good," Johnson said. "His conditioning looks really good, so he'll be ready to roll for sure (Friday)." 

While the Gophers have gone unbeaten in his absence, that's welcome news for a team that's nearing Big Ten play. The Gophers' 6 p.m. tipoff Friday against Maine is their last nonconference game and Big Ten action begins for Minnesota on Jan. 4 against Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. 

"You don't want to put him in a tough spot where his first game back is all of a sudden now on the road in the Big Ten," Johnson said. "To get him a game under his belt just to get the timing back and the rhythm and get his body back moving defensively I think was key. So that was kind of always the goal, if we could go before it'd just have to really make sense." 

Garcia averages 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Gophers this season and both marks lead the team.