National Basketball Association
Illinois 57, Minnesota 53
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 10, 2013
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
# Tim Clougherty, # Ted Valentine, # James Schipper
Attendance:
1625
By SportsDirect Inc.
Illinois 57, No. 18 Minnesota 53: Tyler Griffey, who had the game-winning basket in Thursday night's upset of No. 1 Indiana, scored 16 points and tied his career high with four 3-pointers to lead the visiting Illini to their second win over a Top 20 team in four days.
D.J. Richardson finished with 13 points and Brandon Paul added 10 points for Illinois (17-8, 4-7 Big Ten), which connected on 11-of-23 3-pointers.
Guard Austin Hollins scored 16 points and Trevor Mbakwe finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota (17-7, 5-6), which lost for the sixth time in eight games and led by as many as 12 points in the first half.
The Golden Gophers, who handed Illinois an 84-67 loss in the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 9, jumped out to an early 13-2 lead as the Illini missed their first eight shots. Minnesota was cruising with a 26-14 lead but Illinois ended the half with a 17-4 run capped by Richardson's third 3-pointer of the half, a buzzer-beater from the left side of the key that gave Illinois a 31-30 halftime edge.
The teams traded leads much of the second half with Minnesota going up 48-47 on a jumper by Julian Welch with 6:12 remaining. But Illinois the took the lead for good on a jumper by guard Tracy Abrams, who later sealed the win with a 3-pointer with 18.1 seconds left for the final points of the game.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota played without its second leading scorer, F Rodney Williams (11.9), who suffered a shoulder stinger in practice on Saturday. Sophomore center Elliott Eliason started in place of Williams. ... Illinois F Sam McLaurin connected on his first 3-pointer of the season in the second half. It also was the first attempt beyond the arc for the 6-8 transfer from Coastal Carolina. ... The Gophers also played without backup G Wally Ellenson, who suffered a strained left Achilles' in Wednesday night's loss at Michigan State and is expected to be sidelined one to two weeks.
Top Game Performances
Illinois |
|
Minnesota |
Tyler Griffey 16 |
Scoring |
Austin Hollins 16 |
Tracy Abrams 6 |
Assists |
Andre Hollins 4 |
Tracy Abrams 6 |
Rebounds |
Elliott Eliason 10 |
Tyler Griffey 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Trevor Mbakwe 5 |
D.J. Richardson 2 |
Steals |
Austin Hollins 4 |
Nnanna Egwu 1 |
Blocks |
Elliott Eliason 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Illinois
|
57 |
36.7 |
11-23 |
10-14 |
11 |
23 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
Minnesota
|
53 |
38.0 |
5-17 |
10-13 |
10 |
34 |
6 |
5 |
13 |