Gophers survive cold shooting to beat Maryland

Minnesota is now 3-1 in Big Ten play.

On a day the Gophers men’s basketball team was ice cold, particularly from 3-point range, Elijah Hawkins came through with two crucial shots from long range. And long range is an understatement.

With the Gophers clawing their way back from a seven-point halftime deficit, Hawkins hit a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc to tie the game at 40-40 midway through the second half. And with a second left on the shot clock on what appeared to be a busted possession, Hawkins hit another one from Mars to put the U up 47-45 with 8 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the contest.

"I was just hoping he had awareness to get it off. We were kind of a little bit casual that possession," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. 

Not only did he get it off, but Hawkins' shot helped spark a run that included Pharrel Payne backing down a Maryland defender for a bucket in the paint, a floater from Mike Mitchell Jr. and a pretty feed from Hawkins to Parker Fox for an open dunk. While Maryland fought to the bitter end, the U eventually held on for a 65-62 win Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, its seventh straight victory. 

The Gophers (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) were ice cold in the first half, shooting just 9 of 31 from the field and 1 of 14 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.

So, despite forcing Maryland (9-6, 1-3) into 15 first-half turnovers — Hawkins had five steals in the half, four of which came in the first five minutes of the game — they went into halftime down seven.

Julian Reese and Donta Scott had 14 points apiece for the Terrapins, while their leading scorer, Jahmir Young, had 20 points and eight rebounds, but the U also forced him into five turnovers and held him to 5-for-17 shooting.

The Gophers finally started connecting from deep in the second half with Cam Christie knocking down two shots from long range and Braeden Carrington connecting on one. Minnesota shot 53.6% from the field in the second half after some major first-half shooting struggles.

"I think in the first half we had too many stagnant possessions, too many iso plays, stuff like that," said Christie, who finished with a team-high 12 points. "So it was just getting back to who we are in the second half, moving the ball. We're a really good passing team, we get a lot of assists each game, so just believing in each other to make the right play, make the right shot." 

Four Gophers in all finished in double figures, with Dawson Garcia having 11 points and six rebounds and Josh Ola-Joseph and Hawkins scoring 10 apiece. Hawkins also had nine assists in the game. 

But just like in Thursday’s game at Michigan, the Gophers were in for another battle to the final buzzer. After Minnesota went ahead 55-47 after Fox’s dunk, the Terrapins closed the gap to 55-52 with just over two minutes remaining.

On the Gophers’ next possession, Mitchell had a shot in the paint and Reese pulled on the net, but Maryland was not called for goaltending. Deafening boos rained down from the announced crowd of 8,583 at The Barn. Payne grabbed the rebound and was fouled but missed the front end of a 1-and-1. 

"I was half listening," Johnson joked when asked about the explanation he received the non-goaltending call. "I was trying to figure out what we were gonna run. I don't think they saw it, to be honest. I think they thought it was after the shot and would not have affected the shot." 

Minnesota got a stop on the other end and Dawson Garcia got a second-chance layup to put the Gophers back up 57-52. While Scott drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to close the gap back to two with 56 seconds remaining, Hawkins got a layup on the other end to push it back to four with 34 seconds left.

The U got a stop on the ensuing Maryland possession and Carrington was fouled on the rebound with 22 seconds remaining. He made both free throws to put the Gophers up 61-58. But Young came right back and hit a 3-pointer for the Terps.

The Gophers lined up with all five players on the baseline for the following inbounds pass and got the ball to Garcia, who was immediately fouled. He hit both free throws. Again Maryland answered, with Scott getting an offensive rebound and a layup. But Garcia was fouled again after the next Gophers inbounds pass and again hit both free throws to essentially put the game on ice.