Carlos Morris came off the bench and posted a team-high 20 points as the Minnesota Golden Gophers captured a thrilling 96-90 overtime win against the Michigan State Spartans in Big Ten Conference play at the Breslin Center.
Morris, who eventually fouled out, knocked down 7-of-10 shots from the floor and 4-of-5 behind the 3-point line for the Gophers (17-12, 6-10 Big Ten) as they snapped a three-game slide. Joey King and Andre Hollins both chipped in 17 points, Maurice Walker 15 and eight boards, followed by DeAndre Mathieu with 12 points in a reserve role for the visitors.
The Spartans (19-9, 10-5) were paced by Denzel Valentine who delivered a career-high 27 points as he made good on a sizzling 7-of-12 shots from 3-point range. Travis Trice tacked on 21 points and a game-high 10 assists, although he shot just 6-of-18 from the field and 3-of-12 on the perimeter for a squad that had a four-game win streak come to an end. Branden Dawson accounted for 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots for the hosts.
Both sides shot the ball well from the field in the first half, MSU hitting at a 53.8 percent clip, which included 7-of-13 behind the 3-point line. The Gophers were 51.9 percent accurate from the floor through the first 20 minutes of action, but just 4-of-11 on the perimeter, allowing the Spartans to move out to a 41-36 advantage at the break.
In the second half the Spartans were able to establish a seven-point advantage on more than one occasion, but they also made some costly mistakes down the stretch.
The issues began when, with a five-point advantage, Dawson fouled King on a 3- pointer with under 15 seconds remaining. King made all three chances at the charity stripe to make the score 77-75 in favor of MSU.
With 2.2 seconds left in regulation, Morris was fouled as he knocked down a 3- pointer from the left side, locking the score at 78-78 for the Gophers. However, his subsequent free-throw attempt missed the mark and MSU cleared the rebound.
After the clock was adjusted, MSU was given the ball with 1.9 seconds to play, allowing Trice to get off a shot from just beyond halfcourt, but his attempt fell short as the teams headed to overtime.
In the extra session Minnesota led almost the entire way, connecting on 14- of-20 at the free-throw line in order to secure the upset victory.
In a game that featured 10 ties and just as many lead changes, Minnesota outscored the Spartans at the free-throw line, 29-19, and turned the ball over just seven times on the night.
[SportsNetwork.com]
