It seems there's a new trend emerging for the Gophers men's basketball team: when it looks to start something, it looks to Joe Coleman.
For the second consecutive exhibition game, the sophomore snatched the role of go-to scorer, powering a sometimes sloppy but energized Gophers team to a 86-59 victory over Southwest Baptist on Monday.
When their lead diminished to three points in the first half, the Gophers were in need of a momentum turnaround. Enter Coleman, who dunked to get the Williams Arena crowd of 8,654 excited, then scooped up a turnover and slickly passed to Austin Hollins for a layup.
"He's playing with a lot of confidence, and we're going to need that going forward," senior Trevor Mbakwe said of Coleman, who finished with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. "That's how he was in high school, and that's what we expected from him. We're going to need that scoring from him and that aggressiveness."
In the end, it was a blowout. But Coleman's aggressiveness seemed to play a role in the Gophers' intensity throughout -- even as their 17 turnovers caused frustration early and even as their lead grew late.
Perhaps, too, it was because they had seen the danger that could be done by opponents from the three-point line.
Monday, the Bearcats shot from long range at will, making 10 threes in 36 attempts.
The Gophers went 2-for-13 from behind the perimeter, scoring the bulk of their points from inside the paint -- just as they did against Minnesota State Mankato on Thursday.