Gophers Extend Winning Streak, Defeat Northwestern 75-52

By Michael Molde, GopherSports.com

MINNEAPOLIS  - Minnesota took advantage of an icy-cold start by Northwestern to quickly build a double-digit lead, then maintained that advantage for the remainder of the game during its 75-52 victory on Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena.

The win was the third-straight for the Gophers (15-5, 3-4), and it marked their first Big Ten win at The Barn since an 81-70 defeat of Northwestern on Jan. 26, 2011. It was also Minnesota's first regular season Big Ten win of 20-plus points since an 88-53 blowout of Iowa on March 7, 2010. The Wildcats dropped to 12-7 overall and 2-5 in the conference with their second-straight loss.

All five starters reached double figures for Minnesota, led by freshman guard Joe Coleman's 16 points, five rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Junior guard Julian Welch finished with 14 points, six boards, and five assists, while junior forward Rodney Williams and sophomore guard Austin Hollins each had 11 points for the Gophers.

Minnesota quickly jumped out to an 11-0 lead, as Northwestern missed its first 14 field goal attempts. Senior forward Ralph Sampson III, who finished with 10 points in the game, and Welch each scored four points during the opening run to help Minnesota take control in the early stages.

The Wildcats finally scored on a layup by Davide Curletti, but it didn't take place until the 12:11 mark. Drew Crawford then made a running bank shot to cut the Gophers' lead to 13-4, but Minnesota responded with an 8-0 run behind three-pointers by Austin Hollins and sophomore guard Chip Armelin to stretch the lead to 21-4.

Northwestern's leading scorer, John Shurna, was held scoreless until he converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to 21-7 with 8:36 remaining in the half.

Once again, though, Minnesota widened its lead. The Gophers went on a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to make the score 30-9 with 5:35 left before the break.

After the Wildcats scored five straight points to cut it to 30-14, Minnesota answered with dunks by Williams and Coleman during a quick 6-0 run to push the lead to 22 points, 36-14.

But the Wildcats closed the half by outscoring the Gophers 10-5 over the final 3:03 to pull within 17 points, 41-24, at the break.

Minnesota made 16-of-29 (.552) first-half field goals, while the Wildcats heated up from their 0-for-14 start to end the half at 9-of-30 (.300).

Unlike its frigid start to the first half, Northwestern took little time to make a field goal after the break, as Reggie Hearn opened the half with a three for the Wildcats. Shurna then scored to cut Minnesota's lead to 43-29.

But the Gophers once again fought off the rally, going on a 13-5 run to extend the lead back to 22 points, 56-34, with 11:42 remaining.

Shurna, who wound up leading all scorers with 21 points, sparked a 10-2 run by scoring seven points to cut Minnesota's lead to 58-44, but Northwestern was never able to get closer than 14 points, as the Gophers pulled out of a tie with the Wildcats in the Big Ten standings.

The Gophers return to the road for their next game, traveling to East Lansing, Mich., to face nationally-ranked Michigan State on Wednesday night. Tipoff at the Breslin Center is set for 7:30 p.m. (CT), and the game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.