Gophers survive another nonconference scare, finish strong in win over Yale

Dawson Garcia scored a game-high 24 points in the Minnesota victory.

Minnesota forward Dawson Garcia works around Yale forward Isaac Celiscar (8) during the first half at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Nov. 16, 2024. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

With his team trailing by 10 points to Yale at halftime on Saturday, Gophers men's basketball coach Ben Johnson challenged his team to be more aggressive after a lackluster and uninspiring effort throughout the first 20 minutes.

"We were not even close to being aggressive enough," Johnson said. "And I just said, 'If I see one more guy that can't turn the corner on a ball screen, you're not playing again.' Because we need to get downhill."

Message received.

From top to bottom, the Gophers played a more aggressive brand of basketball in the second half and rallied en route to a 59-56 victory over the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. A needed bounce-back win.

"It was life or death. That's how we approached it in practice," said Dawson Garcia, who scored a game-high 24 points.

Minnesota was coming off an ugly 54-51 loss to North Texas on Wednesday.

One player who took Johnson's challenge of being more aggressive to heart was Brennan Rigsby, who finished with 15 points. Rigsby provided a much-needed secondary scoring punch to Garcia, who's been forced to shoulder the load in the early going of the season. Rigsby hit a 3-pointer and made a floater to kickstart an 11-3 run to start the second half.

The Gophers (3-1) need Rigsby to be an aggressive scorer who can get downhill, a role that's new for him this season.

"It's definitely a little different to what I've been playing, but I like it," Rigsby said. "Be able to use my athleticism, get downhill, try to get some scores and get that going."

With 18.7 second remaining, Garcia hit a pair of free throws that put the Gophers up 57-53, essentially icing the game. John Poulakadis, who scored a team-high 21 points for Yale (2-3), missed a 3 on the other end, and Rigsby grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to Garcia, who was fouled in transition. He made another pair from the charity stripe.

The Gophers got off to a quick start behind a couple buckets from Rigsby and a 3-pointer from Garcia, jumping out to an early 7-2 advantage. Any semblance of an offensive rhythm quickly dissipated. First it was an 11-0 run from the Bulldogs. Overall, they outscored the Gophers 27-12 the rest of the half, which included a near six-minute scoring drought for the U.

Minnesota went into the intermission trailing 29-19.

While their record might not show it, the Bulldogs are a better team than they look on paper. They made the NCAA Tournament a season ago, and 26th-year coach James Jones rarely sees players transfer out, which provides a continuity that Johnson noted is difficult to go against early in the season. Saturday marked the first time the two programs played each other since Dec. 26, 1980, and just the fourth matchup overall. The Gophers have won all four.

"To be able to respond the way we did is a step in the right direction," Johnson said.