Minnesota Finally Wins a Close One

After letting a late lead slip away in five of its losses last season, Minnesota was thrilled to win a close game.

Michael Bauer’s three-pointer rolled in at the buzzer Saturday to give the 24th-ranked Golden Gophers a 72-69 victory over No. 17 Georgia at Minneapolis.

Bauer, who missed two practices this week because of a sprained shoulder and couldn’t shoot without pain until Friday, scored 10 points for Minnesota (2-0).

“Fans were trying to pat me on the shoulder,” Bauer said, “and it hurt a little bit. But it was worth it.”

Jarvis Hayes, who scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, helped Georgia (1-3) rally from a six-point deficit with 1:40 left. He converted a three-point play to cut the lead to 68-66 with 50.5 seconds left.

Rick Rickert, who had 12 points, was fouled and made one of two free throws with 34.3 seconds left. But Hayes swished a three-pointer to tie the score at 69 with 14.7 seconds to go.

“This just showed we’re a different team than we were last year,” said Minnesota’s Moe Hargrow, who had 15 points. “Last year, our body language would’ve been negative, and we would’ve been like, ‘He hit that shot. How are we going to win this game?’ ”

The Gophers’ misfortunes in the final minutes of games last season cost them an NCAA tournament bid, but this victory might do a lot for their confidence.

Their best player, Rickert, missed all five of his second-half shots, and they displayed the patience and discipline on offense that wasn’t always there last season.

Kevin Burleson made four three-pointers and scored 14 points for Minnesota.

Ezra Williams had 13 points and Chris Daniels and Rashad Wright 11 each for Georgia.

“I think games like this make you better,” Georgia Coach Jim Harrick said. “I just think it helps you more than it hurts you.”

The Bulldogs have played without center Steve Thomas, who is suspended because of academic troubles.

“He’s our middle man, our heart and soul,” Harrick said. “We hope to get him back in a couple games.

“If we don’t, we’re going to have a mediocre kind of year.”

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No. 3 Texas 78, Seton Hall 61 -- Deginald Erskin scored 22 of his career-high 24 points in the second half and T.J. Ford added 19 for the Longhorns (4-0) in a Space City Classic game at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

J.R. Morris led Seton Hall (1-1) with 12 points and Andre Barrett added 11.

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No. 5 Pittsburgh 89, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 49 -- The Panthers (3-0) withstood another poor shooting night by star Brandin Knight as Chevy Troutman came off the bench to score 15 points in the win in Pittsburgh.

Toree Morris, who finished with 10 points, scored seven consecutive points in an 18-point first-half run that broke open an unexpectedly tight game. Billy Hall scored 15 points for Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-4), which is one of the nation’s worst Division I teams, having lost 11 in a row and 30 of 32 since last season.

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No. 8 Oklahoma 75, Prairie View 63 -- Hollis Price scored 13 of Oklahoma’s final 18 points, leading the Sooners (3-1) to a tougher-than-expected victory at Norman, Okla.

Price and Ebi Ere each had 16 points for Oklahoma. Prairie View (1-1) was led by Malachi Thurston with 16 points and Gregory Burks with 15.

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Oklahoma State 64, No. 9 Michigan State 61 -- Victor Williams, who had 14 points, hit six free throws in the final two minutes and Oklahoma State upset the Spartans for third place in the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage.

The Cowboys’ Tony Allen blocked a shot by Alan Anderson with 10 seconds remaining and Oklahoma State leading, 62-61. After Williams made two free throws, Rashi Johnson missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it for Michigan State (2-2), which lost for the second consecutive night.

Melvin Sanders led Oklahoma State (3-1) with 18 points. Ivan McFarlin scored 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds before fouling out with 6:21 left. Aloysius Anagonye finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for Michigan State.

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No. 10 Oregon 88, Pacific 69 -- Luke Ridnour had 24 points and seven assists and the Ducks (3-0) won their 19th game in a row at Eugene, four short of the school record.

Andre Joseph and James Davis added 14 points each for the Ducks, who cruised to victory despite getting only eight points from star forward Luke Jackson, who made two of 13 shots but had a career-high 12 rebounds.

Myree Bowden led Pacific (1-2) with 20 points.

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No. 11 Maryland 89, Duquesne 39 -- Drew Nicholas scored 19 points and Ryan Randle added a career-high 16 for the Terrapins, who extended their nonconference home winning streak to 87 games with the rout in College Park.

Nicholas scored all of his points before halftime, helping Maryland (3-0) build a 31-point lead. No player for Duquesne (1-3) scored more than seven points.

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No. 18 Missouri 81, Austin Peay 46 -- Rickey Paulding had 14 points and nine rebounds and Jimmy McKinney had eight points in 14 minutes in his return from a broken bone above his right eye to lead the Tigers at Columbia, Mo.

Arthur Johnson had 16 points and three steals, and Ricky Clemons had nine points and eight assists for Missouri (2-0). Corey Gipson had 15 points, making four of 10 three-point shots, for Austin Peay (2-1).

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Dayton 75, No. 21 Cincinnati 69 -- Keith Waleskowski scored 18 points to help the Flyers (3-0) end an 11-game losing streak to the Bearcats (2-1) with the victory in Dayton.

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No. 22 Tulsa 61, Arkansas 60 -- Kevin Johnson, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, made a free throw to give Tulsa (3-0) a six-point lead with 2 1/2 minutes left and the Golden Hurricane hung on for the victory at Fayetteville, Ark. Arkansas (1-2) was led by Eric Ferguson’s 15 points.

Timmy Bowers had 21 points for No. 23 Mississippi State (2-1), which shot 58 percent in a 100-65 victory over Jacksonville (3-2) at Starkville, Miss.... Freddie Owens had 19 points and Kirk Penney added 18 as No. 25 Wisconsin (4-0) won, 69-52, over host Wisconsin-Green Bay (1-3).... Joe Shipp scored 30 points to lead California (2-0) to a 73-64 overtime victory over host Cleveland State (2-3). A.J. Diggs had eight steals to tie the Cal single-game record set by Jason Kidd against Stanford in 1993.... Ike Diogu scored 27 points in the biggest game by an Arizona State freshman in nearly 11 years as the Sun Devils (4-1) routed Lafayette (0-3), 85-62, at Tempe, Ariz.