Gophers men’s basketball falls to last place Washington after comeback in second half

Ben Johnson emphasized how much his Gophers men’s basketball team needed to keep the underdog mentality Saturday with Washington arriving on a six-game losing streak.

Johnson reminded his players that everyone picked the Gophers to finish last in the league, but they were favored in this game for the first time in Big Ten play.

After the high of two straight home wins against ranked opponents, the Gophers suffered a letdown by failing to match Washington’s desperation in a 71-68 loss Saturday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 9,202 at Williams Arena.

“They’re so similar to how we were,” Johnson said about the Huskies. “Their record isn’t a reflection of who they are as a team or as players. They’re better than that.”

Dawson Garcia, who finished with a game-high 28 points, scored 14 straight points at one point in the second half, bringing the Gophers within 67-66 with 12 seconds remaining in the game on a spinning layup.

But after the Gophers erased a 10-point halftime deficit earlier in the second half, D.J. Davis and Mekhi Mason hit four free throws in the last 9.7 seconds to seal Washington’s first conference road win.

“They were in desperation mode,” said Garcia, who had 23 second-half points but also missed a free throw with seven seconds to play. “In the first half, we didn’t have enough urgency. You can’t put yourself in a hole like that.”

The Gophers (11-11, 3-8 Big Ten) were hoping to get the momentum back after a three-game winning streak ended in Tuesday’s 73-51 loss at Michigan State.

There were signs of improvement after several lopsided losses during a 0-6 Big Ten start, but first-half scoring struggles plagued the Gophers in the last two games.

“It’s hard to get into a rhythm when the ball isn’t moving,” Johnson said. “That’s been an issue for us.”

The Huskies (11-10, 2-8) got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Great Osobor and scored 18 points on Minnesota’s 15 turnovers.

After Garcia picked up his second foul in the first half, Isaac Asuma did his best to keep the score close with all of his eight points, but the Gophers still trailed 40-30 at halftime.

Garcia came alive in the second half to get his seventh straight 20-point game Saturday, but he didn’t get much help offensively.

Femi Odukale was the only other Gophers player in double figures with 10 points. Fellow frontcourt starter Parker Fox had four points in only seven minutes dealing with an apparent back injury. Asuma only played in the waning seconds in the second half.

Not long ago, the Gophers were a hungry, winless Big Ten team. Garcia nailed a buzzer-beater to beat Michigan in overtime on Jan. 16, but the key to that upset and others was also backcourt play.

Patterson and Mike Mitchell Jr. combined for 42 points against the Wolverines. Patterson, Mitchell and Odukale also combined for 29 points in last week’s victory against No. 15 Oregon.

On Saturday, Patterson and Mitchell had just 11 points combined. In comparison, Washington guard Tyler Harris had 15 of his team-high 23 points in the first half.

“When we’ve been winning, we always swing it both sides,” Odukale said of the lack of ball movement. “Sometimes we got uncharacteristic.”

The Huskies entered Saturday with the toughest Big Ten schedule, which included five straight games against ranked opponents. The Gophers were right behind them with the second toughest conference slate.

Saturday was the start of a relatively easier schedule for the Gophers in the second half of the Big Ten season, but it won’t be any easier than playing Washington at home, including Tuesday at Penn State.

“We had some good momentum,” Garcia said. “Couple costly plays down the stretch. Definitely some fall on my shoulders. But it’s just really a collective effort how we lost.”