Gophers men’s basketball team rallies past Yale

Gophers coach Ben Johnson trusted that if he put the ball in the hands of his best player late Saturday he would live with the result — and Dawson Garcia delivered.

For the third straight game, the Gophers trailed at halftime, but Garcia’s 19 second-half points turned the game around, including four free throws in the last 18 seconds to seal the 59-56 bounce-back victory against Yale at Williams Arena.

“To be able to respond the way we did is a step in the right direction,” Johnson said.

BOXSCORE: Minnesota 59, Yale 56

The Gophers (3-1) were dreadful offensively in the first half of Wednesday’s 54-51 loss against North Texas with 14 first-half points. They weren’t much better Saturday, down 29-19 at halftime against Yale, but Garcia urged teammates to treat Saturday like a must-win game.

“We found ourselves in a similar position at halftime,” Garcia said. “We came down into the locker room and we were just like, ‘It’s not going to happen again. We’re not going to lose this game again. We’re going to find a way to win.’ ”

The Big Ten’s scoring leader at 26 points per game, Garcia had five points on 2-for-8 shooting in the first half, but he finished with 24 points.

The Gophers were outscored 23-4 in the first half and trailed by as much as 14 points. They never regained the advantage until going on a 20-9 run in the second half.

Yale (2-3) pulled within 54-53 after a three-pointer from John Poulakidas late. The Gophers were scoreless from the field in the final 2:49 but shot 5-for-6 on free throws to finish. They also held Yale to 36% shooting in the second half.

The Gophers were the worst scoring offense in the Big Ten at 66.3 points per game through three games, but they arguably took a step offensively Saturday.

One of only a few Big Ten teams without at least two players scoring in double figures on average, the Gophers needed to find a consistent scorer other than Garcia. Brennan Rigsby had a season-high 15 points. Lu’Cye Patterson had six assists for the Gophers, who only had three turnovers for the game.

Yale beat Auburn in the NCAA tournament first round last season. The Bulldogs were competitive in a 92-84 loss at Purdue this season, so the Gophers passed arguably their toughest test yet without playing nearly their best basketball.

“The hardest part is we all want it now,” Johnson said. “But it’s just such a work in progress. We just need to get game reps for guys to get comfortable.”

Garcia shot 6-for-17 from the field, but he was 10-for-12 from the foul line. In the past two games, the Savage native is 20-for-22 on free throws.

Garcia scored four points during a 6-0 run for the Gophers that helped them take a four-point lead with two minutes remaining, but his 4-for-4 free-throw shooting in the final 18.7 seconds made the difference. The rest of the team shot 6-for-14 from the foul line.

Mike Mitchell Jr. (ankle), Tyler Cochran (foot) and Caleb Williams (mononucleosis) were out Saturday. Mitchell missed his second straight game. Cochran and Williams haven’t played this season.

The Gophers have two more home games before traveling to play in Orlando over Thanksgiving. They host Cleveland State on Tuesday and Central Michigan nearly a week later, on Nov. 25.