(GREEN BAY ATHLETICS) MINNEAPOLIS – It was an end-to-end fight for the Green Bay Men’s Basketball team at The Barn on Saturday night, but the Phoenix fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 72-65 in overtime.
The Phoenix (1-4) had four players score in double figures, led by Marcus Hall, who had 15 points.
Preston Ruedinger also added 15 points, including clutch shots down the stretch of regulation, and Justin Allen chipped in with 12 points and two steals off the bench. C.J. O’Hara was the fourth Phoenix in double figures with 11.
The Golden Gophers were led by Cade Tyson, who scored 27 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson also finished in double figures with 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 12-9, Green Bay went on a 6-0 run with 8:30 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Allen, to take a 15-12 lead. The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, up until an O’Hara layup gave GB a 27-23 lead going into the break. O’Hara scored nine of his 11 in the first half.
The close battle continued until Minnesota was able to establish some breathing room, grabbing a 51-45 lead with 4:36 to go after a made Tyson three. However, Green Bay would not go away. Trailing by four with under 20 seconds left, Ruedinger hit a pull-up three to cut the Gopher lead to one with 12 seconds to go. A made Tyson free throw gave Minnesota a two-point edge with nine seconds to go before Ruedinger raced down the floor and tied the game with a straight-line drive to the rim. It appeared Minnesota won the game after a half-court heave went in, but the shot was after the buzzer and waved off, sending the game to overtime.
Minnesota proved too much for Green Bay, outscoring the Phoenix 11-4 in overtime en route to the 72-65.
GAME NOTES
» The Green Bay bench made an impact by adding 20 points to its scoring output. Minnesota’s bench had 13.
» UM slightly outrebounded GB 41-37.
» Green Bay got a team-high eight rebounds from C.J. O’Hara.
NEXT UP
The Phoenix will head to the U.S. Virgin Islands next weekend for Paradise Jam. They’ll start the weekend by taking on Yale on Friday, November 21, at 12:30 p.m. CST. Following, they’ll play two more games on Nov. 22 and 24, opponents TBD.
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