Dawson Garcia (19 points and 14 rebounds) led three double-digit scorers as Minnesota (12-11, 4-8) used a strong second half to surge past Penn State (13-10, 3-9) 69-61.
Lu’Cye Patterson scored 14 points (seven rebounds and three assists) as did Brennan Rigsby (5-of-5 shooting), who hadn’t scored in five straight games.
Four players scored double digits for the Nittany Lions, led by D’Marco Dunn’s career-high-tying 18.
Overall, Penn State shot 34% from the field and 30% from 3. Minnesota shot 53% from the field and 36% from deep.
Penn State has now lost four straight games and eight of its last 10.
First Half: After Minnesota scored the only four points in the first six minutes and 16 seconds of the game, D’Marco Dunn (11 first-half points) broke the ice with a layup, igniting a 7-0 run for the Nittany Lions. Penn State made seven of its last 10 shots — after starting 3-for-15 — and grabbed a ten-point lead, but 10 turnovers allowed Minnesota to stay close, as the Golden Gophers closed on a 6-0 run to make it 25-21 by the intermission.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Second Half: After Minnesota held a 4-2 lead at the 13:44 mark, it would trail Penn State for the next 25 minutes until back-to-back 3s by Mike Mitchell Jr. (nine points) gave the Golden Gophers a 47-46 lead. Minnesota closed the final 10:05 with a 25-17 scoring advantage, making eight of its last nine shots and shooting 69.6% from the field in the second half.
Turning Point: Mitchell Jr.’s consecutive 3s sparked a 12-4 run at the 10:05 mark in the second, giving the Golden Gophers a lead they would never relinquish again.
Penn State will head out West for a five-day road trip, featuring matchups against UCLA on Saturday and USC on Feb. 11.
A previous version of this article said that Penn State’s overall record was 13-20 instead of 13-10.
