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The eggnog will taste a little sweeter when the University of Minnesota men's basketball team takes a three-day break to enjoy Christmas.
Escaping an embarrassing loss has a way of making you appreciate the little
things.
After an uphill fight, the Gophers finally found a way to put away Duquesne 74-69 in overtime Monday night.
The Gophers (5-3) didn't claim their first lead until 2:07 remained in the extra
period. A three-pointer by Adam Boone gave the Gophers a 68-67 advantage and
brought a roar from the Williams Arena crowd like no other this season.
Kris Humphries' 15-foot jump shot with 48.5 seconds remaining gave the Gophers
a 70-69 lead, and Boone iced the game with four free throws that finally subdued
stubborn Duquesne (2-6).
The Gophers had a chance to win on the final possession of regulation, but Moe
Hargrow's 15-foot jumper from the right wing rimmed out with a second to play.
Humphries, who had only two points at halftime, finished with 20 points and
10 rebounds to post his sixth double-double of the season. Boone finished with
21 points.
The Dukes withstood an emotional effort by the Gophers to start the second half
and built their lead to 18 points in the first six minutes after the break.
Jack Higgins hit back-to-back jumpers in transition, the second a three-pointer
that gave the Dukes a 48-30 lead with 14:23 to play.
Gophers coach Dan Monson promptly called timeout as the uneasiness grew in Williams
Arena.
The Gophers responded with a 14-0 run. Hargrow scored five consecutive points
that put the Gophers back into the game. Humphries ended the spurt with a three-point
play after he was fouled on a strong move to the basket. It cut the lead to
48-44.
Duquesne's Elijah Palmer hit a free throw to end the run with 10:34 remaining.
Palmer then converted a layup while Aaron Robinson fouled him to give the Dukes
a 52-44 lead.
A Boone three-pointer finally pulled the Gophers even at 59-59 with 2:38 to
play.
You could almost hear a rusty squeak in the first half when the Gophers had
the ball. Their last game was 10 days ago, a 100-80 victory over Oral Roberts.
The Gophers shot an icy 30 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes; 16
of their shots came from behind the three-point line as they settled for long
shots against Duquesne's 2-3 zone.
The Gophers' missed shots led to long rebounds that fueled the Dukes' transition
game as they took a 35-22 lead into the locker room. The Gophers made only three
three-pointers in the first half.
Duquesne put the Gophers in a huge hole by going on a 19-8 run over the last
12:19 of the first half.
The Dukes frustrates the Gophers, who had trouble feeding the ball to Humphries.
The freshman scored only two points on 1-of-5 shooting and three rebounds.
Duquesne, 14 of 27 from the field in the first half, had a good combination
of scoring from Palmer inside and three-point shooting from its guards.
Palmer scored 10 points in the first half on an array of jump hooks and slashing
moves to the basket.
Martin Osimani, Bryant McAllister, Jimmy Tricco, Jack Higgins and Jon Pawlak
all made three-pointers for the Dukes in the first half. McAllister's came with
four seconds left in the period, and it gave the Dukes a 13-point lead.
Jeff Hagen was the only Gopher who made 50 percent of his field-goal attempts
in the opening 20 minutes, and he was 1 for 1.
Boone led the Gophers with seven points, and Michael Bauer had five.