Gophers tell Lu’Cye Patterson to keep shooting, and he shakes a slump just in time

A week ago, Lu’Cye Patterson watched from the bench over the final 15 minutes, as his Gophers men’s basketball teammates pulled off a comeback victory against Cleveland State.

The 6-2 senior from Minneapolis didn’t sulk but supported fellow starters and a couple reserves as they closed out the game on an impressive run. Still, he knew he could contribute down the stretch.

Patterson got his chance Monday night to help the Gophers escape with the 68-65 win against Central Michigan, scoring 14 of his season-high 19 points in the second half.

“He had a good week of practice,” Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. “I think that’s where it all starts. When you’re trying to get into a rhythm and get it going. It’s like those habits. What are your daily habits? I think he had a really good week of practice and that builds confidence.”

The Gophers (5-1), who travel to Orlando for Thursday’s game against Wichita State in the ESPN Events Invitational, needed a breakout game from Patterson to take momentum on the road for Thanksgiving.

Here are four things learned in Monday’s close win against Central Michigan:

When Patterson played his first three seasons of college basketball, he didn’t always see family and friends at home games at Charlotte and Missouri State, respectively.

Things were different once he transferred back home to play for the Gophers. There were familiar faces from his circle every time he looked up into the crowd. It took time to get comfortable with that.

Patterson didn’t seem to be pressing as much Monday. It didn’t matter that he was in a shooting slump (9-for-37 field goals and 1-for-16 three-pointers in four games). His coaches and teammates told him to keep shooting — and that worked.

After going 1-for-6 in the first half, the former Minnesota Prep Academy standout shot 5-for-9 in the second half Monday, including 3-for-6 from three-point range. Patterson’s 1-of-2 free throws with 17 seconds to play also made sure Central Michigan had to nail a three to send the game into overtime.

Patterson’s scoring was desperately needed with starter Brennan Rigsby going scoreless in 18 minutes with foul trouble.

“That next shot mentality has been helping me in this last game and this whole week at practice,” Patterson said.

Dawson Garcia and his head coach had a conversation before the season about how he could make the biggest impact possible his senior year. One of the areas was getting to the foul line.

The 6-11 Garcia ranks third in the Big Ten and tied for 11th nationally with 8.5 free throws attempted per game this season. That’s nearly three more times going to the line than last season. He’s also third in the league and eighth nationally with 7.0 free throws made per game, a career-high.

Garcia was 25-for-27 at the line in his previous three games, including 11 straight before missing a couple Monday in the first half.

The Gophers held a 62-60 lead with about 90 seconds to play, but Garcia gave them a more comfortable cushion late with four straight free throws. The Chippewas cut it to two again twice in the final 18 seconds. Garcia and Patterson combined to go 2-for-4 to help the Gophers survive.

Where would the Gophers be without their defense this season? Possibly with a couple more losses.

In the second half Monday, Central Michigan led 53-50 with under eight minutes to go, but the Gophers took control with a 9-2 run, which included threes from Garcia and Patterson.

A big sequence defensively came when the Gophers trailed 55-54 in the last six minutes. Frank Mitchell’s layup off a long pass from Rigsby gave them the lead, but the Chippewas were also held scoreless for 3 1/2 minutes.

Mid-American Conference preseason player of the year Anthony Pritchard was held to just seven points on 3-for-10 shooting, which included zero field goals in the last 8:30 of the game.

The Gophers have been without starting senior guard Mike Mitchell Jr. for the last four games with an ankle injury, but he’s making progress to possibly return sooner than later.

Mitchell, who sprained his left ankle in the win vs. Nebraska Omaha on Nov. 9, wasn’t wearing a walking boot while in street clothes Monday. His status for Thursday’s game against Wichita State remains questionable.

“He’s getting close,” Johnson said. “Right now, it’s not necessarily the offensive end. It’s more the defensive end. Just lateral movement. Just seeing where he’s at with that. He took a big jump these last four days. We’ll see where he’s at this week. But it’s thankfully getting there.”