Gophers end 12-game losing streak with Battle’s buzzer-beater
A few hours after facing questions on Gophers women's basketball coach Lindsay Whalen's abrupt resignation, U athletics director Mark Coyle took his normal seat a few rows behind the bench for Thursday's men's basketball game at Williams Arena.
Coyle, a regular at home games, listened at postgame news conferences as Johnson talked about injuries and inexperience contribute to the U's longest losing streak since the 2015-16 season at 12 consecutive games.
But that ended Thursday night for the Gophers with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Jamison Battle to secure the 75-74 victory against the Scarlet Knights at the Barn.
Battle, who finished with 20 points, scored 15 points in the second half on 5-for-9 shooting from three-point range. Three of his shots from beyond the arc came in the final 22 seconds, including the shot that gave their first home Big Ten win this season.
Following Caleb McConnell's missed free throw with five seconds to play, Ta'Lon Cooper brought the ball up the floor before kicking it out to Battle beyond the arc. The junior forward made a step-back move to free himself from Rutgers' Cam Spencer before nailing the deep clutch jumper.
Officials spent several minutes after time expired trying to figure out if the shot counted, but fans eventually erupted when the waiting game was over. Bucket good.
Coyle, who hired both Whalen and Johnson, was asked about the state of Gophers men's basketball during Whalen's news conference Thursday. He said Johnson knows the Gophers have to figure out "how do we get our basketball programs to compete at a high level."
The Gophers (8-20, 2-16 Big Ten) were 5-32 in two years under the Johnson in Big Ten play, but they showed enough improvement in one night that gave slight hope for possibly another win moving forward.
The last time the Gophers faced Rutgers they suffered the first of back-to-back losses by 35 points, which had never happened in program history. The Gophers team that suffered a 90-55 loss Feb. 1 in Piscataway, N.J. was much different than what showed up Thursday.
Minnesota fans saw glimpses of his team's potential before the waning seconds. There was the early highlight of the night when Dawson Garcia connected with Pharrel Payne for an alley-oop dunk in the first half. Garcia and Payne, who combined for 34 points and 17 rebounds, looked like Johnson's frontcourt of the future, especially with star recruit Dennis Evans being released from his letter of intent recently.
BOXSCORE: Gophers 75, Rutgers 74
Freshman guard Braeden Carrington, who won a state title at the Barn with Park Center last March, had eight points in the first half, including two three-pointers that got the Gophers as close as a five-point deficit before trailing 40-33 at halftime.
Rutgers (18-11, 10-9) won just three Big Ten games in Steve Pikiell's first two seasons before the program showed signs of a turnaround. The Scarlet Knights played Thursday with the urgency of a team trying to make a third straight NCAA tournament appearance, especially down the stretch.
In the second half, Rutgers outscored the Gophers 10-3 to take a 50-36 lead on a reverse layup from Cliff Omoruyi, who finished with a team-high 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Establishing inside scoring with Payne cut into the deficit before threes from Battle and Cooper eventually got the Gophers within single digits, including 61-54 with just under six minutes to play.
The 6-11, 240-pound Omoruyi continued to make his presence felt with intimidating baskets and blocks. The Gophers were frustrated with the inability to slow down Rutgers inside by giving up 17 second-chance points on 15 offensive boards.
With three minutes left, Carrington limped off the floor after Omoruyi dunked following another offensive board by the Scarlet Knights. He watched from the bench as his teammates continued to fight.
Garcia's spinning layup off the glass made it a six-point game with under a minute left. Following Rutgers free throws, Battle drilled a quick three-pointer to pull within 72-67, but he wasn't finished with his late-game heroics.
The Gophers trailed 62-54 with 54 seconds left, but Battle's three ignited an 8-2 run to end the game. After his second three-pointer, freshman Jaden Henley's putback six seconds to play set up the opportunity to win it following the missed free throw.
