Gophers men's basketball four takeaways from Chicago State win

Jamison Battle could've easily pulled up in transition for a conventional three-pointer late in the first half of Thursday's 58-55 win against Chicago State, but he decided to be unselfish.

The Gophers junior forward saw his teammate Ta'Lon Cooper breaking free from a defender running the floor, but his pass was deflected by a defender into the air.

Instead of a turnover, though, the ball headed straight toward the basket and banked in for the craziest three-point field goal you'll ever see in a game.

"I was trying to pass it to Ta'Lon," Battle said. "When I saw it in the air, I was like 'this kind of has a chance.' And then it went in, so I kind of got lucky."

The Gophers would only hit three more three-pointers on the night, but they were lucky enough to find a way to win their second game in a row after blowing a 15-point lead.

Here are four takeaways from the win vs. Chicago State on Thursday afternoon:

Garcia gets comfortable

The momentum was entirely in Chicago State's favor when 12 straight points erased the Gophers comfortable lead and became a 46-44 deficit around the 11-minute mark in the second half.

The Gophers were struggling with their outside shooting, so they let Garcia go to work in the post. At 6-11, the former Prior Lake standout had the size advantage, but he had to be the aggressor.

Garcia scored eight of the team's last 14 points to escape the upset at the Barn. It was his fourth straight double figure game. He's averaging 16.3 points, six rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 blocks, and shooting 51% from the field during that stretch.

Last season's leading scorer, Jamison Battle relied heavily on his jump shot, but Garcia's at his best when he's balanced inside and out offensively. He's been able to carry the Gophers recently while shooting 4-for-14 from three in the last four games, including zero threes in their last two wins.

Losing leads

The Gophers would've had a much different feeling going into Christmas break if they ended Thursday with a stunning loss to Chicago State at home.

It was going in that direction when the Gophers were outscored 28-11 during a stretch from the end of the first half into the second half. The lead changed seven times before the Cougars were held scoreless in the final 2:53.

In last week's 72-56 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Gophers ended a five-game losing streak, but they allowed a 12-point second-half lead shrink to just one point with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game.

Chicago State and Pine Bluff have a combined 7-21 record, so they've obviously struggled to close out games themselves. It won't be as easy to hold on for wins in the Big Ten after squandering big leads.

Settling for threes

Even the worst three-point shooting teams have a night when just about everything seems to be falling through the net. That happened against Pine Bluff last week, but then the Gophers came down to earth Thursday.

After hitting 12 three-pointers in a much-needed win Dec. 14, the Gophers went just 4-for-20 against Chicago State, including 0-for-10 in the second half.

The Gophers were third in the Big Ten last season in three-point shooting (36.8%). They also had the league's most accurate three-point shooter with Payton Willis (42.8%).

Battle and freshman Braeden Carrington, who drilled nine threes combined against Pine Bluff, have been too reliant on perimeter shooting this season. They went 4-for-14 combined Thursday, including 0-for-7 in the second half.

Freshmen inconsistency

Pharrel Payne came off the bench Thursday intent on making his presence felt inside. The 6-9 freshman sparked the Gophers with consecutive field goals during a 10-0 run in the first half, including a nifty spin move and slam.

Payne looked to be on his way to having big performance, but they ended up being his only baskets of the game on three shot attempts. He also played only three minutes in the second half after committing two turnovers and missing two free throws.

Johnson doesn't seem to have as much trust in some of his talented freshmen lately. Payne averaged more than 22 minutes a game earlier this season, but he's played a combined 25 minutes the last two games.

Jaden Henley started the first nine games of the season, but he's played only 19 minutes combined in the last three games.

Carrington, who had a team-high 20 points vs. Pine Bluff, had six points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes against Chicago State, but he went scoreless in the second half.