Minnesota shocks Rutgers with late comeback
Note: This post will be updated.
Stunner.
Jamison Battle hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Minnesota 75-74 win over Rutgers on Thursday night at Williams Arena.
Rutgers led 70-60 with a 1:15 to go.
A review of the clock by the officials took well over 10 minutes.
Battle also nailed a pair of 3-pointers to make it 73-70, and then Minnesota stole a pass and got another look. It rimmed out, but the ball went out of bounds last off of Rutgers with nine seconds to go.
Minnesota went for the tying three, but it just missed again. Minnesota got the offensive rebound, however, and converted the layup to make it 73-72.
Caleb McConnell made a foul shot to make it 74-72. The Gophers came back down the court and Battle hoisted up the go-ahead bucket after a pump fake.
Rutgers (18-12, 11-9) suffered another Q3 loss that damages its NCAA Tournament resume. Rutgers now has four on the year.
Minnesota ended its 12-game losing streak to improve to 8-20 overall and 2-16 in league play.
Cliff Omoruyi posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Cam Spencer netted 21 points as well, 14 in the first half. He made his first five shots of the contest.
Entering the game, Michigan was 11-7 in conference play, Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern, and Iowa were all 11-8, and Illinois, Michigan State, and Rutgers were 10-8. Michigan and Illinois played each other (Illinois won in overtime, so it is now 11-8).
Rutgers shot over 50% in the first half and led 40-33. The Scarlet Knight held advantages in rebounding, second chance points, points in the paint, points off of turnovers, blocks, steals, and assists. They were up by as many as 10 points at 27-17.
Minnesota wouldn't go away and had answers almost every time Rutgers went on a run or built some momentum. Rutgers closed the first 20 minutes of play making four out of its final five shots.
It then exploded out of the gates in the second half making four of its first five shots to go ahead 50-36. Spencer, McConnell, and Omoruyi all hit layups and Aundre Hyatt drilled a quick corner 3-pointer in the 10-3 spurt. A 6-0/8-2 surge by Minnesota brought it down to an eight point game at 55-47 with 12 minutes left.
Rutgers then forced a shot clock violation, and Derek Simpson scored on a tough layup after an offensive rebound by Paul Mulcahy to put the Scarlet Knights up by 10 points again.
Minnesota made a 3-pointer to bring Rutgers' lead down to seven, but Omoruyi responded with a jump hook inside. He scored six points in a row for Rutgers and eight of last 12 as Rutgers took a 65-56 lead.
McConnell then stole a pass a went up for a fastbreak dunk. A foul by Dawson Garcia caused McConnell to fall down hard on to the court. He looked to be in a ton of pain, but he didn't come out of the game and he shot the ensuing foul shots.
Garcia made it a 70-64 game after a layup, and a Jamison Battle triple cut it to 72-67.
TURNING POINT
Battle 3-pointer with 43 seconds to go to make it 72-67 RU..
KEY STATS
Second chance points: Rutgers dominated the Gophers in that area, scoring 11 points in the first half and 17 for the game.
Rebounding: In order to get those second chance points, you need rebounds, specifically on the offensive end. Rutgers tallied 20 rebounds to Minnesota's 14 in the opening 20 minutes including six offensive boards and out-rebounded the Gophers in the game 38-29 with 15 offensive boards.
Balanced shooting: The Scarlet Knights shot 52% in the first half and was 3-of-6 on 3-pointers and notched 20 points in the paint. They were 8-of-10 on layups.
Caleb McConnell: The fifth-year guard/forward did a little bit of everything in the game, even things that don't show up in the box score like tipped passes, toughness, and on-ball defense. He also took a hard fall and didn't come out.
RUTGERS PLAYER OF THE GAME
C Cliff Omoruyi
Omoruyi had arguably his best offensive game of the season with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting -- and they weren't all dunks. He also had 11 rebounds and four blocks.
RHOOPS PLAY OF THE DAY
Omoruyi slam dunk
UP NEXT
Rutgers wraps up the regular season with a home game on Sunday night versus Northwestern at 7:30 p.m. for Senior Night at Jersey Mike's Arena (BTN).
Stay tuned as the seniors who will be honored will be talking with the media on Friday.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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