Minnesota Golden Gophers lose in double-OT to South Dakota
It took double-overtime, but the Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s basketball team did finally manage to lose to South Dakota on Saturday in Minneapolis.
It was the first time that Minnesota and South Dakota had faced each other since 1985 on a basketball court and the reunion of the border buddies didn’t result well for Minnesota. The Gophers had a six point lead with 90 seconds remaining in the first overtime of the game, but blew that lead and the game in a double-overtime 85-81 loss to the Coyotes.
According to ESPN, the victory is only the second in history for South Dakota over a Big Ten opponent. The only other time was against Wisconsin in December of 1956. The Coyotes have a handful of victories over Nebraska, but those came before Nebraska joined the Big Ten and none of those victories have been later than 1942.
ESPN also reminds us that the Coyotes football team once beat the Gophers 41-38. That game was on September 11, 2010, but seems like yesterday sometimes.
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Jordan Murphy led the Gophers off the bench with a double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Joey King had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the overtime game, but was 0-for-3 from three-point land in the contest. Charles Buggs had 12 and Nate Mason had 11 to round out the Minnesota starters in double-digits. Kevin Dorsey had 15 off the bench.
All five Coyote starters scored in double-digits led by Casey Kasperbauer who had 17 points in 46 minutes of play for South Dakota.
The Gophers next play on Tuesday against another Summit League opponent. The Gophers host South Dakota State who are supposed to be even better than their in-state rivals.
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