Central Michigan was the latest opponent of the Gophers men’s basketball team thinking about leaving Williams Arena with an upset — and it nearly did.
Only twice previously this season had Ben Johnson’s Gophers led at halftime, even though early conference play doesn’t start until next week. Middle-of-the-road programs from the Mid-American Conference, Summit League, American Athletic Conference and Ivy League, among others, didn’t fear playing a team picked to finish last in the Big Ten.
This gave the Gophers experience in close games that served them well Monday. They received desperately needed big shots and free throws from Dawson Garcia and Lu’Cye Patterson to pull out a 68-65 win against the Chippewas.
Garcia, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, was in a familiar spot when he had to seal the game at the foul line. After making four in a row, the senior forward missed two straight but hit his last one with 15 seconds to play for the three-point final margin.
The Gophers (5-1) also got a free throw with 17 seconds left from Patterson, who finished with a season-high 19 points, four rebounds and three assists.
A week ago, Johnson decided to go with freshman Isaac Asuma instead of Patterson down the stretch for defensive purposes in a 58-47 win against Cleveland State. But Patterson’s hot hand this time around kept him on the floor when it mattered most.
The biggest shot of his Gophers career so far arguably came on Patterson’s fourth three-pointer of the game, from the top of the key to put the Gophers ahead 62-58 with 1:52 to play.
For the fourth time this season, the Gophers were part of a game decided by four points or fewer. They looked to pull away early in the first half with a 14-0 run to take a 10-point lead, but the Chippewas (3-3) had other plans.
