Gophers bounce back after disappointing Maui Invite

Published 10:26 am Wednesday, December 4, 2013

MINNEAPOLIS — Andre Hollins scored 21 points and Austin Hollins added 16 to lift Minnesota to a 71-61 victory over Florida State on Tuesday night.

The Golden Gophers (7-2) grabbed 13 offensive rebounds against the bigger Seminoles to help them bounce back from a disappointing showing at the Maui Invitational. The Gophers only turned the ball over six times and hit seven 3-pointers to overcome 34 percent shooting.

Okaro White had 16 points and eight rebounds and Ian Miller added 16 points and seven assists off the bench for the Seminoles (5-3). Florida State shot 46.5 percent, but turned the ball over 17 times and missed 10 free throws in a foul-filled game.

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There were 67 foul shots taken and 52 fouls called.

No other Gophers scored in double figures, but they made 28 of 38 free throws to bounce back after losing to Syracuse and Arkansas and struggling with Chaminade in Maui last week.

The game lacked any discernable flow thanks to the constant whistles, with officials clamping down on the clutching and grabbing that many observers believe is squeezing the life out of the college game. Both teams were in the bonus early in each half. Four players fouled out, two on each side.

The Gophers led 52-42 midway through the second half, overcoming woeful shooting with some tough defense and a couple of three-point plays from DeAndre Mathieu and Oto Osenieks to build the cushion. The Seminoles didn’t even attempt a shot for the first 3:07 of the second half as the turnovers kept coming.

But Florida State hung around, hitting the shots they did take and clamping down on defense themselves to cut it to 57-53 on a lob from Miller to White with under six minutes to go.

Clinging to a four-point lead with less than two minutes to go, the 5-foot-9 Mathieu went right at 7-foot-3 Boris Bojanovsky and scored with a windmill layup that helped the Gophers hold off FSU. It was the only field goal in the last six minutes of the game for either side.

The Seminoles have high hopes this season, which appeared to be validated with a convincing victory over VCU and narrow losses to Michigan and Florida late last month. They’re physical, fast in the open court and have a pair of post players in Bojanovsky and Michael Oto who are over 7 feet tall.

The Gophers were giving up size and strength to the Seminoles at virtually every position, so their best chance to hang in there came from behind the 3-point arc. They came out firing, hitting five of their first seven from long range. The Hollinses each hit one during a 12-0 run that gave Minnesota a 23-12 lead midway through the first half.

But Florida State’s defense, undeterred by a closely called game, started to flex its muscle as the half wore on. They squeezed the Gophers and baited them into taking contested jumpers and Miller jumpstarted the team off the bench to help them creep back in it.

The lightning quick senior scored on two coast-to-coast drives and the Seminoles chipped away at the foul line to cut the deficit to six points at halftime.