National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 68, Penn St. 65
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Where: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pennsylvania
Officials: # John Gaffney, # Ray Perone, # Gene Steratore
Attendance: 5010

Minnesota 68, Penn State 65: DeAndre Mathieu scored 16 points, including two big baskets in the final minutes, as the visiting Golden Gophers won for the eighth time in nine games.

Andre Hollins recorded 14 points while Elliott Eliason chipped in with 11 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten). Malik Smith made 4-of-4 at the free-throw line in the last minute and the Golden Gophers survived two 3-point tries by the Nittany Lions in the final seconds.

Tim Frazier registered 20 points and eight assists before fouling out with under a minute left for Penn State (9-7, 0-3). Ross Travis collected 18 points and 13 rebounds while Brandon Taylor had 10 points for the Nittany Lions, but leading scorer D.J. Newbill was held scoreless in 14 minutes before fouling out.

Penn State led by eight early in the second half after a Frazier 3-pointer before the Golden Gophers rallied to tie it at 51-51 with just over six minutes left. Mathieu’s tip-in gave Minnesota the lead with 1:43 left and his steal and basket made it 63-60 with 40.8 seconds left before the Golden Gophers held on.

Minnesota held Penn State without a field goal for almost seven minutes to start the game, building a 12-2 advantage. Despite having Newbill on the bench with two fouls, Frazier scored 13 and Travis added 10 as the Nittany Lions roared back to take a 35-30 lead at intermission.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Eliason had four of Minnesota’s seven blocks and notched his fifth double-double of the season. … Penn State freshman G Geno Thorpe made his first career start and finished with eight points. … Minnesota, which came in leading the Big Ten in free-throw shooting percentage (76.5), made only 7-of-15 in the first half and finished 22-of-34.
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Penn St.
Deandre Mathieu 16 Scoring Tim Frazier 20
Andre Hollins 3 Assists Tim Frazier 8
Elliott Eliason 12 Rebounds Ross Travis 13
Deandre Mathieu 6 Free Throws Made Tim Frazier 7
Deandre Mathieu 3 Steals Geno Thorpe 2
Elliott Eliason 4 Blocks Brandon Taylor 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Minnesota 68 41.2 4-16 22-34 9 35 7 7 14
Penn St. 65 37.9 3-19 18-29 10 37 7 4 14