LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) -- DeAndre Mathieu scored 17 points and
Minnesota came back in the second half to beat Chaminade 83-68 at the Maui
Invitational on Wednesday.
The Golden Gophers turned around a 9-point deficit in the
second half by forcing the Division II school into bad shots and five turnovers
over the final 10 minutes.
Down 59-53 with 9:27 left, Minnesota prevented Chaminade
from making it past midcourt within 10 seconds, leading to a second consecutive
layup for Maurice Walker. Malik Smith cut the deficit to 3 points on
Minnesota's next possession.
Minnesota (6-2) then went on a 13-point run during which
Chaminade committed three turnovers and missed five 3-pointers. Austin Hollins
gave Minnesota its first lead of the second half at 65-64 with a 3-pointer from
the left wing with less than seven minutes remaining.
Minnesota shot just over 41 percent in the second half after
shooting under 36 percent the first 20 minutes. Minnesota made just two of 12
3-pointers in the first half.
Smith had 16 points while Walker had 10 points and seven
rebounds.
The win allowed Minnesota -- which received votes in the
last Associated Press Top 25 poll -- to salvage a win in Hawaii after two
straight losses. The Golden Gophers lost to No. 8 Syracuse on Monday and
Arkansas on Tuesday. Minnesota places seventh in the tournament.
Lee Bailey scored 18 points for the Silverswords (2-3).
Frankie Etuati scored 13 points while Kevin Hu had 12. After making more than
half its shots in the first half, Chaminade made just nine of 28 field goals in
the second half.
