Nate Mason returns, helps Gophers hold off Illinois

The day before the Gophers resumed Big Ten play against Illinois, Nate Mason posted a picture of himself on Instagram laying on a training table with his whole body practically covered in inflated compression bags to speed his recovery.

The All-Big Ten senior point guard's legs looked like they belonged to the Michelin Man.

Mason was determined to return to the court, so his team didn't have to face an Illinois squad hoping to pull off the upset with an aggressive on-ball pressure defense.

With their captain back in the lineup Wednesday from an ankle injury, the Gophers got a jolt of confidence to take a 13-point halftime lead, then fought off a late Illinois run for a 77-67 victory in front of 11,597 at Williams Arena.

Mason didn't need much time to shake off the rust, tying Jordan Murphy with a team-high 17 points, to go with six assists and three steals in 37 minutes.

"I just tried to do everything these guys needed me to do — I tried to lead these guys," Mason said. "I know you guys could probably see me gasping for air on the sideline."

Minnesota's biggest lead was 20 points in the first half. Illinois wasn't bowing out early, carving the deficit down to 55-51 after Trent Frazier's three-pointer and a putback from De'Monte Williams with 10:15 left in the second half.

The Gophers (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten) appeared to be running out of gas before Reggie Lynch and Murphy finally answered the surge. Murphy's three-point play made it a nine-point advantage and gave him his Division-I leading 16th consecutive double-double (17 points and 17 rebounds) to start the season.

Illinois wasn't done, cutting the margin to 65-60 with 3:57 left, but Mason responded with a clutch three-pointer from the corner to start a 9-1 run. Minnesota's defense held the Illini scoreless from the field for the next three minutes.

"Nate hit a huge shot with 3½ minutes left," Gophers coach Richard Pitino said. "That's what seniors do. He played 37 minutes and hasn't really practiced a lot going up and down. That was sheer heart and will."

Amir Coffey had 16 points. Lynch finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks for the Gophers, who have won five in a row.

Illinois (10-6, 0-3) forced 15 turnovers, but Minnesota put the clamps down early to jump out to a 17-2 lead after the Illini shot 1-for-19 from the field to open the game.

"They took us out to the woodshed and whipped us," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.

Before he left for the first time at the 12-minute mark, Mason stole the ball and zipped a three-quarters-court pass to Murphy for an emphatic two-handed dunk. On the following possession, Mason connected with Coffey for an alley-oop slam on the fast break.

Mason scored his first basket at 9:33. That ignited a 10-2 run with his eight points, including two three-pointers. The Gophers led 39-26 at halftime.

Mason missed his first game since 2016 Saturday, a 65-55 victory against Harvard. He suffered a left ankle injury in the second half Dec. 23 against Florida Atlantic. Even he feared the worst at the time, thinking it was a season-ending injury — possibly a torn Achilles' tendon.

"We got the [magnetic resonance imaging exam] that night, and it came back pretty positive," Mason said. "They just told me I had to rest it a little bit and stay off of it. That was definitely a big turning point for me."