Gophers men’s basketball team leans on defense, then overwhelms Fairleigh Dickinson with offense

Top priority on the scouting report for the Gophers men’s basketball team Saturday was to limit Fairleigh Dickinson’s Terrence Brown, one of the top 10 scorers in the nation.

Brown, a former Columbia Heights star, had a rough afternoon in his return home. The 6-3 sophomore scored just 10 points on 4-for-22 shooting.

One of the Gophers’ best defensive efforts this season was matched by a big second half of offense, and they pulled away for a 74-60 win in front of a pre-Christmas crowd of 8,949 at Williams Arena.

The Gophers (7-5) scored a season-high 54 points on 72% shooting in the second half. A one-point halftime deficit gave them a wake-up call coming off a 12-day hiatus since their last game, a 15-point loss at Indiana on Dec. 9.

“We didn’t want Brown to get into a rhythm early,” Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. “When you have that type of break, offensively it’s going to take the first 20 minutes to get clicking. But it was the defensive mindset and what it looked like that I was most worried about.”

The Gophers held FDU to 29% shooting in the first half but still trailed 21-20 because they shot 30%.

Dawson Garcia and Mike Mitchell Jr. finished with 18 points apiece in helping the Gophers end a two-game skid. They combined for 25 points in the second half.

Brown, who averaged 22 points, had his lowest scoring game of the season, including going 0-for-4 from three-point range. He had 27 points vs. Villanova this month.

“We just really emphasize defense,” Mitchell said. “We know our offense will come as long as we get stops. We had 10 kills today, which is three stops in a row. [With that] we can win any game.”

The Knights (4-10), who upset Purdue in the 2023 NCAA tournament, were far from intimidated after playing four games previously against major conference teams this season.

In the second half, Femi Odukale, who was the primary defender on Brown, scored six of his 10 points to give his team a spark. FDU still cut a 15-point deficit to 51-43 on Brown’s layup with under seven minutes left, but Garcia scored his eighth straight point to stretch the advantage again to double figures.

Starting big man Frank Mitchell was sidelined Saturday for concussion protocol. Minnesota still scored 34 points in the paint, including a 26-12 advantage in the second half. Parker Fox replaced Frank Mitchell in the starting lineup and finished with four of the team’s seven blocks.

The Gophers also had 19 assists, and only three of their 11 turnovers came in the second half.

“After a long break, the offense is going to be disjointed,” Johnson said. “We did not consume ourselves with shots not falling or offense looking sluggish. We focused on getting stops.”

Big Ten play resumes Jan. 2 vs. Purdue at home. The Gophers have one more warmup game, Dec. 29 vs. Morgan State.

Johnson challenged the leadership of his team two weeks ago after an 0-2 Big Ten start, including the U’s 18-point loss Dec. 4 to Michigan State at home. Minnesota’s players had a tough time with practice habits transferring over to games, but competitive scrimmages since the Indiana loss helped give them more edge.

“We got after each other,” said Lu’Cye Patterson, who finished with 10 points. “We talked stuff out. I think we really needed that as a team. It just felt good to get back on the winning side of it right now.”