Gophers put up fight, but fall at No. 13 Illinois

Dawson Garcia had 29 points to lead Minnesota.

Dawson Garcia and Cam Christie combined for 52 points, but 13th-ranked Illinois was able to stay one step ahead of the Gophers men's basketball team in a 105-97 victory Wednesday night in Champaign, Ill. 

Terrance Shannon Jr. scored 29, Marcus Domask had 22 and Coleman Hawkins posted 20 for the Illini (21-7, 12-5 Big Ten), who led for most of the contest.

The Gophers (17-11, 8-9) trailed by just three at halftime and got strong performances from Garcia, who led the team with 29 points, Christie who tallied 23, as well as Mike Mitchell Jr., Pharrel Payne and Elijah Hawkins. 

Mitchell finished with 17 points and was a perfect 4 for 4 from 3-point range, Payne had 15 points and nine rebounds and Hawkins recorded 10 points and 12 assists. 

But despite their entire starting lineup finishing in double figures, the Gophers were unable to cut into their deficit in the second half. The Illini led by as many as 14 down the stretch Wednesday night before the Gophers made a couple buckets late. 

The Gophers have three more regular-season games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament. The first comes Saturday when they host Penn State at Williams Arena. Tipoff is slated for 2:15 p.m.